Microsoft and Epic are teaming up in hopes to leverage the power of generative artificial intelligence to improve the accuracy and efficiency of electronic health records. The partnership signifies yet another way that AI is playing a bigger role in healthcare.
Generative AI is a type of artificial intelligence that uses machine learning to generate new content, such as text, images, and even entire websites. In the context of healthcare and EHRs, generative AI can be used to automatically fill in missing information, suggest diagnoses, and even predict future health outcomes based on historical data.
The collaboration was announced at the HIMSS Global Health Conference & Exhibition. With the partnership, the companies are blending Microsoft’s Azure OpenAI Service with Epic’s health record software. Microsoft and Epic say the use of AI in Epic’s electronic health records will boost productivity and improve patient care. “The urgent and critical challenges facing healthcare systems and their providers demand a comprehensive approach combining Azure OpenAI Service with Epic’s industry-leading technology,” Eric Boyd, corporate vice president of Microsoft’s AI Platform, said in a statement.
Here at Extract, we know that EHRs are an essential tool for healthcare providers, allowing them to quickly access and update patient information, but they can also be burdensome, time-consuming, and prone to errors. But by leveraging AI algorithms to automatically fill in missing information, EHRs can become more complete, accurate, and easier to use, freeing up clinicians to focus on patient care.
Among the health systems already deploying the integrated systems are UC San Diego Health; UW Health in Madison, Wisconsin; and Stanford Health Care, leveraging Epic's new capabilities to automatically draft message responses, some of which who are also Extract Systems clients.
"A good use of technology simplifies things related to workforce and workflow," UW Health's Chief Information Officer Chero Goswami said in a statement. "Integrating generative AI into some of our daily workflows will increase productivity for many of our providers, allowing them to focus on the clinical duties that truly require their attention."
The companies said another solution will add natural language queries to Epic’s self-service reporting tool, SlicerDicer, allowing researchers and clinicians to search for information conversationally.
Microsoft and Epic are no strangers to the healthcare space. Microsoft has been developing solutions for healthcare for over a decade, while Epic has been a leading provider of EHRs for more than 40 years. By combining their expertise, the companies aim to accelerate the adoption of generative AI in healthcare and improve patient outcomes.
Extract is also no stranger to leveraging AI and other automation tools in the healthcare space. With over 25 years in the business, we know that unstructured, non-interfaced documents pose a challenge for many departments. Our HealthyData Platform classifies, indexes, and abstracts these documents automatically, reducing errors, manual data entry, and the time it takes them to reach the EMR or DMS.
Source: https://www.nbc15.com/2023/04/17/epic-microsoft-team-up-let-ai-help-answer-medical-questions/
About the Author: Taylor Genter
Taylor is a Marketing Manager at Extract with experience in data analytics, graphic design, and both digital and social media marketing. She earned her Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Marketing at the University of Wisconsin- Whitewater. Taylor enjoys analyzing people’s behaviors and attitudes to find out what motivates them, and then curating better ways to communicate with them.