The COVID-19 pandemic has affected people all across the globe in a variety of different ways. In order to support people "in their time of need", Microsoft has announced a new Industry Cloud solution, Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare, at its virtual Build conference today. This solution is the Redmond giant's first industry-specific cloud offering.
Increasing the pace at which health transformation is achieved, Cloud for Healthcare will aim to offer the following capabilities:
- Enhancing patient engagement
- Empowering health team collaboration
- Improving operational and clinical data insights
- Cloud built on interoperability, security, and trust
- Extensible healthcare partner ecosystem
Efficient automation on high value workflows will be provided, along with data analysis features for both structured and unstructured data that provide various insights. The solution will combine the power of Dynamics 365 services such as Marketing and Customer Service, along with Azure IoT. Secure virtual visits, referral creation, patient-provider interaction, data ingestion from medical devices, and a bunch of other capabilities will be provided in this regard.
Furthermore, the value provided through other Microsoft cloud services and Microsoft 365 offerings such as Teams will be extended using Cloud for Healthcare. Care teams will be able to collaborate and communicate in a much more effective manner utilizing the aforementioned services alongside the new solution. Microsoft believes that its partner ecosystem that comprises healthcare providers such as Epic, Allscripts, GE Healthcare, Adaptive Biotechnologies, and more will be a key factor in making its cloud-based offering a success.
Currently, Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare is available in preview in the form of a free trial over the next six months. General availability is planned for the fourth quarter this year. For now, interested parties can apply for the public preview here, or check out the demo available at the same link to learn more.
