Columbus-based Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and Microsoft are partnering to develop a “smart hospital” model as part of a five-year collaboration focused on AI, cloud infrastructure and clinical operations.
The organizations announced the partnership in a Nov. 10 news release, outlining plans to connect hospital facility, operational and clinical-support systems, modernize technology infrastructure and expand the use of AI across patient care and research.
The smart hospital platform is already in use at Ohio State’s Richard M. Ross Heart Hospital and James Outpatient Care facility, where initial efforts are focused on improving energy efficiency and resource use through Microsoft Azure and internet of things technologies.
Ohio State Wexner plans to expand the platform to additional facilities, and the work will inform how its new University Hospital operates.
The partnership’s goal is to move approximately 70% to 80% of Ohio State’s storage and computing infrastructure to Microsoft Azure, including digital pathology and imaging workloads.
The medical center is also moving its EHR to Azure as a backup for business continuity, an effort intended to maintain access to critical clinical systems during disruptions.
Another component involves developing a unified data platform using Microsoft Fabric and OneLake to connect clinical, operational and research information. Potential applications include forecasting surgical demand, staffing needs and operating room utilization to better align hospital capacity with patient needs.
The organizations are also expanding AI capabilities for clinicians and researchers. Ohio State clinicians are already using Microsoft Dragon Copilot’s ambient documentation capabilities to draft clinical notes for review and finalization.
Additional work includes exploring AI-supported tumor board workflows that could bring together pathology, imaging, genomics and clinical histories to support multidisciplinary care planning.
“Artificial intelligence represents one of the most significant opportunities to transform and improve how hospitals care for patients,” John J. Warner, MD, CEO of Ohio State Wexner Medical Center and executive vice president at Ohio State, said in the news release.
The partnership will also expand AI education, training and certification opportunities for clinicians, researchers, faculty, staff and students through Microsoft learning resources.
