Big technology companies, both within and outside of the traditional healthcare space, have big ideas about how to improve the healthcare system.
Here are six partnerships between technology companies and healthcare providers over the past two weeks that will be interesting to watch in the future.
1. Microsoft signed on to a seven-year partnership with Humana to transition data to Microsoft Azure. Humana also plans to roll out Microsoft tools to its 41,600 employees. The two companies will also develop predictive solutions and intelligent automation designed to improve real-time access to care information, among other functions.
2. Microsoft also partnered with Nuance to create the "exam room of the future" that will include artificial intelligence and other technologies. The companies' goal is to develop an exam room focused on patient care instead of administrative tasks that would include a tool for clinical documentation to write itself through voice recognition and clinical intelligence.
3. The American Hospital Association formed an alliance with Avia, a Chicago-based digital health consulting firm, to launch a new offering that will provide personalized digital insights and peer-to-peer collaboration for AHA's nearly 5,000 hospital and health system members.
4. Cerner partnered with Uber Health to integrate the company's non-emergency transportation services with its EHR platform. Healthcare providers can now schedule Uber for patients directly from the Cerner EHR, and the patients' phone number and pick-up address will automatically transfer from the EHR to Uber.
5. VA Palo Alto (Calif.) Health Care System and Atrius Health in Newton, Mass., partnered with Verily to develop a data-driven solution for population health challenges. Verily is Alphabet's life sciences subsidiary.
6. Google partnered with artificial intelligence startup care.ai to bring autonomous monitoring technology to hospital rooms to prevent avoidable falls, protocol breaches and medical errors. The companies have launched pilot programs with multiple hospitals across the U.S. and hope it will also improve staff efficiency.
Morea articles on health IT:
How big tech will affect healthcare: 4 key thoughts
Who will win in the evolving healthcare landscape?
The human side of EHR implementation: 5 key tactics for a smooth transition