Microsoft and Epic recently announced an AI partnership to address critical healthcare needs. According to the companies, the collaboration will harness the potential of generative AI to enhance clinical efficiency, streamline operational processes, and improve patient outcomes.
The joint effort aims to tackle workforce burnout, staffing shortages, and other urgent challenges within the healthcare sector. The companies will be utilizing artificial intelligence to confront the most pressing issues in healthcare.
This partnership combines Microsoft’s expertise in cloud and AI with Epic’s understanding of healthcare workflows, delivering innovative solutions tailored specifically for healthcare professionals.
Leveraging generative AI to aid healthcare challenges
The collaboration aims to integrate conversational generative AI technologies into Epic’s Electronic Health Record (EHR) system. The companies will collaborate to swiftly implement numerous copilot solutions, designed to unleash the value potential facilitated by the Microsoft Cloud and our AI technologies.
The partnership also aims to address staffing, financial, and clinical access challenges faced by health systems. Epic will provide healthcare organizations with a range of new AI capabilities, built on Azure OpenAI Service and Nuance DAX Express solutions, including:
To enhance clinical efficiency. Expanding from the previously introduced AI-assisted Epic In Basket, the new solutions aim to enhance clinical efficiency for physicians and nurses, enabling them to boost productivity in their daily clinical workflows. The solutions will facilitate quicker documentation through suggested text and expedite review processes with in-context summaries.
Streamlining Healthcare Workflow.Epic plans to add Nuance Dragon Ambient eXperience (DAX) technology to its core platforms to improve efficiency and decision-making in everyday tasks.
Enhanced productivity through artificial intelligence. Generative artificial intelligence will help simplify and speed up office tasks. The AI will provide hints based on experience, as well as perform complex computational operations autonomously.
Driving medical advances.With the support of the Azure OpenAI service, Epic is delving deeper into AI technology to add and analyze real-life patient records. The company said that this will allow more accurate diagnoses and select the right treatment.
Addressing the Current Healthcare Climate
Microsoft’s decision stems from the multitude of challenges currently confronting the healthcare sector. The modern healthcare landscape is riddled with various issues. Projections from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services indicate a predicted deficit of 90,000 physicians by 2025.
Notably, 40% to 60% of healthcare professionals confess to enduring burnout. Healthcare providers are wrestling with financial limitations while striving to maintain the delivery of high-quality care.
McKinsey & Company reports that nearly one-fourth of the U.S. national health expenditure goes toward administrative overhead.
Supporting this perspective, a UPMC Center for Connected Medicine/KLAS Research survey unveiled healthcare institutions’ strong inclination to invest in AI solutions in the near future. These solutions span operational enhancement, health management, diagnostic imaging, and clinical research.
A future of opportunities in healthcare
The partnership between Microsoft and Epic builds upon established initiatives. Recently, Azure OpenAI Service was integrated into Epic’s EHR to automate message responses.
Jointly, the companies now aim to fast-track the integration of generative AI into healthcare, and collaborate with healthcare providers to address the sector’s enduring challenges.
Source: mPost
