Microsoft (MSFT 0.52%) is rolling out industry-specific cloud offerings, with the first focused on healthcare.
In a blog post, the tech stock unveiled Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare, which is free to trial for the next six months and will help healthcare organizations improve patient engagement, enhance collaboration between medical teams, and improve the insights from clinical data.
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“We know that technology has a role to play in accelerating progress for solutions to the pandemic and other pressing healthcare concerns and challenges,” wrote Tom McGuinness and Gregory Moore, two corporate vice presidents in Microsoft's health units. “Looking ahead, we expect to see healthcare organizations continue to use newly implemented technology tools throughout the recovery period and into the new normal.”
On the patient engagement front Microsoft said its new cloud offering will allow healthcare providers to create care plans for patients that enables them to send content and proactively reach out on any devices patients use. Medical facilities will be able to host secure virtual visits, utilize chatbots for assessments, and remotely monitor the health of patients. Microsoft noted that since March, when the pandemic began spreading in the U.S. and around the world, more than 1,600 COVID-19 bots based on its Healthcare Bot Service went live, interacting with 31 million people in 23 countries.
In terms of enabling collaboration between healthcare teams, Microsoft said its building capabilities in Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Teams so healthcare providers have access to a secure platform to engage in patient care. It also added a bookings app within Teams to make it easy for healthcare providers to schedule and manage virtual care visits.
It makes sense Microsoft would first focus on healthcare for its industry-specific cloud offerings. The COVID-19 pandemic is changing the way we interact, including with medical professionals. Microsoft didn’t say which industries it will target next.
