Microsoft unveils health care AI tools

Microsoft unveiled several new artificial intelligence (AI) tools on Thursday aiming to support health care organizations through medical imaging models, health care agent services and an AI-driven workflow solution for nurses.

The announcement detailed how each tool will improve workflow for busy health care professionals.

The AI imaging tool, developed in collaboration with partners like Providence and Paige.ai, enables health care organizations to integrate and analyze various data types beyond just text, including medical images, clinical records and genomic data. Microsoft says the tool would allow health care organizations to “rapidly build, fine-tune and deploy AI solutions tailored to their specific needs.”

Carlo Bifulco, chief medical officer of Providence Genomics and a co-author of the Prov-GigaPath study, noted the models may help with cancer research and diagnostics.

“These models can complement human expertise by providing insights beyond traditional visual interpretation and, as we move toward a more integrated, multimodal approach, will reshape the future of medicine,” he said.

The AI tools will also help nurses and clinicians time on administrative tasks. According to a report from the Office of the Surgeon General, nurses will spend 41 percent of their time on documentation alone. The tools aim to rapidly decrease that strain on medical professionals by streamlining those administrative tasks, such as through drafting flow sheets for review.

Additionally, Microsoft announced a new public preview of an AI health care agent service, which would aid in appointment scheduling, clinical trial matching, patient triaging and more.

The statement detailed that medical organizations can “leverage the health care agent service to help create connected patient experiences, improve clinical workflows, and empower healthcare professionals.”

“We are at an inflection point where AI breakthroughs are fundamentally changing the way we work and live,” said Joe Petro, corporate vice president of healthcare and life sciences solutions and platforms at Microsoft, in a statement.

“Microsoft’s AI-powered solutions are helping lead these efforts by streamlining workflows, improving data integration, and utilizing AI to deliver better outcomes for healthcare professionals, researchers and scientists, payors, providers, medtech developers, and ultimately the patients they all serve,” he added.

While many of the newly announced solutions are in the early stages of development, healthcare organizations will be testing and analyzing the systems “to avoid undesirable behaviors, such as harmful content, bias, misuse and other unintended risks,” Microsoft noted.