From increased reliance on enterprise platforms to deploying AI and virtual reality, health systems recently launched or deepened several relationships with Big Tech companies.
Here are 10 collaborations Becker’s reported on in the past month:
1. Clearwater, Fla.-based BayCare Health System has Amazon Alexa smart speakers in all its hospital rooms, with consent and education part of the in-room welcoming process, Becker’s reported May 12. Patients can talk to nurses through the devices rather than hitting a call button, and use Alexa to adjust the air conditioning and lighting and access entertainment options.
2. Nashville, Tenn.-based Vanderbilt Health said May 12 it is rolling out an AI-powered virtual assistant within its patient portal. The assistant uses a large language model from OpenAI through a Microsoft Azure cloud environment already employed by the health system for clinical applications.
3. Palo Alto, Calif.-based Stanford Health Care has surpassed 1 million clinical notes generated using Microsoft’s Dragon Copilot, an ambient AI tool that listens to patient visits and drafts documentation directly into the EHR, a health system leader shared May 8 on LinkedIn.
4. Bethlehem, Pa.-based St. Luke’s University Health Network said its radiology AI platform freed up capacity equal to about 1.3 full-time employees as the health system expands cloud-based reporting and workflow tools. The 16-hospital system adopted Microsoft’s PowerScribe One to support radiology reporting and integrate AI tools into clinical workflows, according to a May 7 Microsoft news release.
5. One of the three pillars of Accrete Health Partners, the digital health and venture investing arm of Cincinnati-based Bon Secours Mercy Health, is to maximize the services of core platforms like Epic and Microsoft, a leader wrote May 4 in Becker’s.
6. Amazon One Medical has expanded its presence in New Jersey with a new primary care office in Englewood, part of its growing partnership with Edison, N.J.-based Hackensack Meridian, the health system said April 30.
7. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs said in April it selected Mynd Immersive — a digital therapeutics platform — alongside Meta, to help expand immersive virtual reality therapy services to 45 more VA medical centers nationwide.
8. Marlton, N.J.-based Virtua Health has eliminated 15,000 excess hospital days after building AI tools with Microsoft, the tech giant said in April.
9. Philadelphia-based Jefferson Health might leave a vendor when one of its enterprise platforms — Epic, Microsoft, Workday, Salesforce and ServiceNow — comes up with a similar or better tool, Becker’s reported April 27.
10. Ann Arbor-based Michigan Medicine is in the midst of a “significant Epic program” and has recently undertaken a large Microsoft program aimed at further integration, Becker’s reported April 24.
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