Breaking Down AI:

Real Applications in Healthcare

Contents
01 The healthcare opportunity: AI and your data

02 How does AI lead to better care?

03 Clinical analytics in healthcare

04 Operational analytics in healthcare

05 Holistic analytics in healthcare

06 Bringing it all together: Microsoft Cloud for

Healthcare

07 Keeping up with the digital evolution

 01

The healthcare
opportunity: AI
and your data
AI and the cloud: Overcoming obstacles with innovation

The healthcare industry is facing unique challenges. Digital transformation and learning like a human, AI needs to have data. That’s where the cloud
has redefined the way health organizations approach care team comes in. The cloud brings disparate healthcare data sets together into
collaboration, virtual health and remote monitoring, and security and one consolidated environment. AI then extracts real-time learnings from
compliance. Healthcare workers have had to meet significant challenges in that robust data. By leveraging AI and the cloud, healthcare organizations
order to best serve patients and adapt to a rapidly evolving industry. And are undergoing a complete digital transformation, characterized by new,
today’s technology is rising to those challenges. Product capabilities that agile insights.
healthcare providers could have previously only dreamed of are quickly
becoming a reality. The future of care management is here. AI and the cloud are the gateway to digital transformation. With
better access to the right data at the right time, organizations can reduce
How? Digital technologies—including the cloud, AI, machine learning, operating costs, improve the quality of care, increase the involvement of
and augmented reality, among others—are transforming the industry. consumers in the care process, and optimize provider satisfaction.
The cloud and AI work in tandem to unlock insights. To begin thinking

4
Microsoft Cloud for
Healthcare enables seamless
digital transformation
Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare provides the capabilities to manage
health data at scale and makes it easier for healthcare organizations
to improve the patient experience, coordinate care, and drive
operational efficiency while helping support security, compliance,
and the interoperability of health data.


Improve business outcomes with
Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare
 50% higher ROI
Preemptive digital transformations have a
50 percent higher ROI than reactive ones.1

6
 AI enables deeper insights by providing richer data analysis

Advanced
analytics Social determinants of health Claims and cost data

opportunities Socioeconomics, education,

and health services data
Claims, revenue cycle

New systems of insight are the next

evolution of digital transformation.
By taking advantage of advances in
intelligent healthcare, organizations
can dramatically improve business
outcomes. Patient and citizen data
Purchasing patterns,
Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare enables open government data,
personalized care. social media

See how Microsoft Cloud for Clinical data

Healthcare helps you provide a
modern patient experience  Electronic medical records,
diagnostic images Pharmaceutical and life science data
Clinical trials, genomics

7
 AI will improve healthcare outcomes across the board,
particularly for consumers

According to a survey of healthcare executives, AI will have the greatest impact in these areas:

A new paradigm
55%
for better patient Improving health outcomes

care
55%
AI has been a long-promised savior for the Improving the patient experience
healthcare industry, but some providers
have grown skeptical waiting for the reality
to live up to the promise. The reality is that 46%
while the future of AI is full of possibility,
Decreasing the per capita cost of care
there are practical applications in place
now that are already meeting the needs of
healthcare executives.
44%
Improving the provider experience2

Consumer-facing benefits Business/operations-focused benefits

8
AI and real-time data are creating a new Healthcare leaders can
paradigm for healthcare take advantage of AI
tools to empower care
Data and AI are enabling a more predictive and prescriptive analytical approach to healthcare. teams, engage patients,
In practical terms, this means that AI is providing the capability to sense the healthcare world,
comprehend, act, and learn. AI uses machine learning and delivers capabilities to mimic human
optimize clinical and
types of behavior and performance—to ultimately improve patient care and outcomes. AI systems operational effectiveness,
gather and crunch massive amounts of data in real time to identify patterns. They then use that and ultimately transform
information to automate and streamline healthcare processes.
healthcare.
Current AI capabilities include:

Predicting the future condition of individual patients based on early warning signs.

Determining best practices in operations management by comparing data from

multiple facilities.

Recommending medications based on the successful treatment of similar patients.

Detecting and preventing fraudulent claims or other abuses.

02

How does AI lead

to better care?
AI enables a broad spectrum of healthcare advances
It’s important to enable AI for everyone in the care process and understand the significant opportunities that exist. Transformation based on data
and AI is delivering clinical operational analytics solutions that can improve the quality of care for patients throughout their care experiences.

Let’s see how

Clinical analytics focuses on the use of data and analytics to Operational analytics focuses on the use of data and analytics to
improve clinical treatment processes and outcomes. improve the efficiency or effectiveness of systems used to provide
and manage care processes.
For example, clinicians can pull insights from data to help
identify at-risk patients and deliver optimal treatments. For example, by using AI, healthcare teams can predict operational
Sophisticated analytics engines enhanced through machine issues, track safety metrics, monitor equipment health, maintain the
learning and AI can provide evidence to inform actions. integrity of the supply chain, and identify fraud.

11
Following are some scenarios in which AI is already delivering
value. They exemplify opportunities to improve both clinical
quality and operational effectiveness in healthcare organizations.

Clinical analytics Operational analytics

Transform data into prescriptive insights. Gain actionable insights to optimize
performance.
• Predictive care guidance
• Readmissions management
• Behavioral analytics
• Cost management
• Population health
• Claims management
• Medical image intelligence
• Staffing management
• Telehealth
• Throughput management

12
03

Clinical analytics
in healthcare
 86%
of healthcare costs are attributable to
chronic disease.3

14
Predictive care guidance

Start with these questions What is predictive care guidance?

Do you use analytical systems that help clinicians predict Predictive care guidance uses analytical solutions to search through large amounts of data
the effectiveness of treatments? from sources like electronic medical records, smart medical devices, patient and population
demographics, and the public domain to find hidden patterns and trends and predict outcomes
for individual patients. Most predictive care guidance relies on AI learning models that become
If so, in what areas are you applying predictive care
more precise when additional data and cases are introduced.
guidance?

Predictive analytics is a data-driven crystal ball that’s taking analytics to the next level—beyond
If not, are there areas within the provision of care in which
descriptive or diagnostic methods that look backward on what happened and why.
you would find such systems especially useful?

How can it help your organization?

Key benefits Predictive care guidance enables clinicians to determine the likelihood of disease and helps with
For providers For payors determining diagnoses and predicting future wellness or illness. Predictive guidance can improve
the quality of healthcare and reduce the costs of care. It provides clinicians with answers they’re
Clinical pathway prediction Health risk prediction seeking for individual patients, with a focus on increasing the accuracy of diagnoses.
Drug effectiveness Predictive risk scoring

Disease progression
prediction

15
 Benefits of implementing analytical models

For providers For payors

• Clinical pathway prediction. Assess • Health risk prediction. Predict the
and predict which treatment option likelihood that a patient presenting a
will likely produce the best outcome certain set of symptoms is at risk for an
for a patient. adverse health event.

• Drug effectiveness. Predict which • Predictive risk scoring. Assess which

drug will produce the best outcome patients might be at risk for readmissions
57% of organizations
for a patient. and hospital-acquired infections.
in the late stages of AI
• Disease progression prediction.
deployment believe they’ll Predict the likely path and progression
see savings in as soon as of a disease.
two years.2

16
CASE STUDY: PREDICTIVE PATIENT CARE IN ACTION

How Ochsner Health System uses AI to

proactively treat patients

A new AI tool launched by Ochsner Health System analyzes

thousands of data points to predict which patients will deteriorate
in the near future. Built with a machine learning platform, the tool
triggers alerts to prompt Ochsner’s care teams to intervene and
proactively treat patients and prevent emergency situations.

During a 90-day pilot with the tool, Ochsner was able to reduce the
hospital’s typical number of codes (cardiac or respiratory arrests) “A lot of what medicine [has done is] trying to
by 44 percent. In addition to sending pre-code alerts, this predictive understand what happened with the patient after the
model is capable of predicting any patient deterioration that needs
fact. … The whole game is shifting. We’re going to know
attention based on lab values, vital signs, and other data.
before it happens. That’s a total game-changer.”
Learn more about the new AI tool 
—Mike Hulefeld,
Chief Operating Officer, Ochsner Health System

17
Behavioral analytics

Start with these questions What is behavioral analytics?

How well do your care providers and care recipients Behavioral analytics is a term used in marketing to describe the analysis of consumer
conform to recommended care protocols? behavior patterns that informs how to market or deliver an action in a way that increases
the odds of adoption. While clinical analytics can recommend a clinical action, applying
Does your organization use value-based payment behavioral analytics increases the likelihood of the action being taken. This is sometimes
systems, in which quality or outcome measures affect your called nudging the patient or care provider.
reimbursements?
Other industries use behavioral analytics to suggest add-on sales or display content based
on previous usage patterns. This is how Netflix recommends movies that a customer
might like. The method of deriving suggestions is particularly important in healthcare
because suggestions will be put off or ignored if they’re not easy to implement.

Key benefits
How can it help your organization?
For providers For payors
Incomplete application of evidence-based medicine is a leading cause of poor outcomes
Patient engagement Individual health
and an increased overall cost of care. Behavioral analytics can increase the adoption of
and well-being
Readmissions recommended practices.

18
Benefits of behavioral analytics

For providers For payors

• Patient engagement. Engage patients and • Individual health and well-being.
care providers to ensure conformance and Improve health awareness and preventive
increase the likelihood of the best possible care choices in patients.
care.

• Readmissions. Reduce readmissions and

even prevent initial admissions through
proactive targeting.

19
 Are you feeling sick?

CASE STUDY: BEHAVIORAL ANALY TICS IN ACTION

Yes.
Walgreens Boots Alliance incorporated the
Azure Health Bot service to reassure consumers
by putting the facts at their fingertips
In the last 10 days, have you lost
When an unprecedented healthcare crisis struck, Walgreens Boots your sense of taste or smell?
Alliance wanted to provide its customers with quick, accessible
information. The global pharmacy organization knew that reliable
information and facts provided reassurance in an uncertain time. By
partnering with Microsoft, the organization was able to find a way
to provide that real-time information without straining its already
burdened staff. By implementing bot technology, Walgreens Boots
“It’s been fantastic to see how the [Azure Health Bot]
Alliance made it easy for customers to access healthcare resources
directly. This left pharmacists and staff free to focus on other critical service has helped us do the right things for our customers
tasks and personalized customer service. and, just as importantly, for our medical service providers.”

Read how Walgreens Boots Alliance used automation to —Greg Orr,

provide quicker answers  Vice President of Digital Health, Walgreens Boots Alliance

20
Population health

Start with these questions What is population health?

Which of your patient populations consumes the most Population health strives to influence the delivery of care to a group of individuals
resources? who have similar healthcare needs, as opposed to focusing on evaluating and treating
medical conditions one patient at a time.
Is your organization using value-based payment systems,
in which quality or outcome measures affect your
How can it help your organization?
reimbursements?
Payment systems are moving from a fee-for-service business model to one that
incorporates value into the payment equation. Meeting payor requirements during this
transition requires greater use of data and analytics, including better data on patient-
reported outcomes, social determinants of health, patient and member risk stratification,
Key benefits and activity-based costing.
For providers For payors
Integrated care Cost management
Specialty care Self-care management
Patient engagement

21
Benefits of implementing population health

For providers For payors

• Integrated care. Implement integrated care— • Self-care management. Use patient data to
coordinated treatment across care team improve patients’ understanding of their role
members, including clinicians, social workers, in their wellness, help them stay healthier, and
physical therapists, and behavioral healthcare reduce the cost per service.
professionals. Analytics can help identify and
measure the effectiveness of care across all care • Cost management. Manage the health of
settings. populations by creating better outcomes at an
efficient cost.
• Specialty care. Use data to determine the best
ways to manage health needs and outcomes
for entire populations of people suffering from
chronic conditions.

• Patient engagement. Empower patients to

more effectively manage their own health and
participate in the decision-making process to
improve outcomes.

22
CASE STUDY: POPUL ATION HEALTH IN ACTION

How Finnish healthcare provider HUS created

a life-saving system with Microsoft Cloud for
Healthcare

Finland’s largest healthcare provider, HUS, has created a test, track,

and trace system that combats the spread of infectious viruses such
as COVID-19.

Using a variety of services from Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare, the

system directs Finnish citizens to a health bot for self-assessment,
helps them book a test, sends them the results, and contacts those “The key is having all these services as part of
who may have been infected. The data that is collected and used
Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare, and therefore natively
to power the system is compliant with Finnish security and privacy
legislation and is informing research efforts to understand how interoperating. So, we can think of them as different
viruses are contracted and how they spread. tools from a magic toolbox.”

Learn more about how HUS is pioneering new testing  —Aki Puustjärvi,
IT Development Manager, HUS

23
Medical image intelligence

Start with these questions What is medical image intelligence?

Are you (or your imaging partners) doing anything to embed Medical image intelligence is the embedding of analytical capabilities into
analytics or intelligence into the medical imaging process? images to augment or improve diagnostic and treatment planning processes.

What type of analytics are you using to evaluate the effectiveness

How can it help your organization?
of your imaging systems?
Medical images represent one of the largest categories of unstructured data
used in healthcare.

Specialists like radiologists, oncologists, ophthalmologists, and others are

Key benefits trained to evaluate medical images to assess medical conditions, make
For providers For payors diagnoses, and deliver treatments based on their reading of these images.
Analytics technologies can increase the effectiveness of these efforts.
Diagnosis and treatment Speed and quality
optimization

24
Benefits of implementing medical
image intelligence

For providers For payors

• Diagnosis and treatment • Speed and quality. Improve the quality
optimization. Assist specialists in of image analysis while driving down
making diagnoses, improve treatment costs for payors.
planning, and increase the efficiency
of these processes.

Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare can help you unlock insights.

See how Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare enables treatment optimization 

25
CASE STUDY: MEDICAL IMAGE INTELLIGENCE IN ACTION

Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust used

Microsoft HoloLens to reduce its staff’s virus
exposure by 83 percent

During the pandemic, distance learning took on a new meaning for one
of the largest National Health Service (NHS) Trust locations in the United
Kingdom. Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust implemented HoloLens,
a mixed-reality headset, to send a secure live video feed to a computer
screen in an adjacent room. This innovative safety measure enabled
“[HoloLens] solved a major problem for us during a crisis,
healthcare teams to view the doctor’s treatment firsthand while remaining
at a safe distance. Integrating HoloLens also significantly reduced the by allowing us to keep treating very ill patients while
amount of personal protective equipment (PPE) being used, as only the limiting our exposure to a deadly virus. Not only that, it
doctor wearing the headset had to dress in PPE. Early estimates indicate
reduced our PPE consumption and significantly improved
that using HoloLens will save up to 700 items of PPE per ward per week.
the efficiency of our ward rounds.”
Learn how artificial intelligence helped Imperial College
Healthcare NHS Trust  —James Kinross,
Consultant Surgeon, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust

26
Telehealth and ambient clinical intelligence

Start with these questions What is telehealth?

Do you have virtual tools and services that enable clinicians and Telehealth refers to the use of digital healthcare tools and telecommunications technologies
care teams to access real-time information about a patient’s issues, to engage health consumers and encourage self-care and peer care, promote remote care
prescriptions, biometrics, vitals, and other clinical information? coordination and management, and reduce costs.

Do you have modern digital tools to remotely connect with your Examples of telehealth technologies include videoconferencing, machine learning, the Internet
patients and engage them in their healthcare journeys? of Things (IoT), AI, chatbots, and wearable technology that resolve the logistical challenges of
hospital wait times and provide proactive care coordination.

How can it help your organization?

Key benefits An intelligent telehealth program helps clinicians make informed diagnoses and recommend
treatments that align to patient care coordination plans. By using machine learning and AI,
For providers For payors
healthcare providers can implement effective remote monitoring programs and devices
Improved patient outcomes Improved quality scores and make better use of the clinical workforce when monitoring patients remotely. Machine
and clinician productivity learning algorithms for chatbots can recommend diagnoses based on symptoms and patient
Increased beneficiary
health data to help clinicians make better treatment decisions. AI technology can empower
Transformed virtual care satisfaction
providers in effective telestroke programs to identify strokes more quickly and begin life-
Increased patient access to care saving treatment remotely.

27
Benefits of implementing telehealth

For providers For payors

• Improved patient outcomes and clinician • Improved quality scores. Improve health outcomes
productivity. Use AI and telehealth to reduce the and reduce hospitalizations and readmissions with
need for physician data entry. Allow patients and remote patient monitoring tools supplemented by
clinicians to spend more time interacting with each video- or phone-based consultations with providers.
other to enhance the experience and overall patient- This also directly improves payor quality scores and
provider relationship. cuts costs.

• Transformed virtual care. Transform virtual care by • Increased member satisfaction. Use telehealth and
incorporating telehealth technologies and innovative digital engagement to allow members to better
uses of data. Keep patients connected and create manage their treatment plans. This improves care
better understanding among remote care teams. coordination and member satisfaction and promotes
healthy behavior.
• Increased patient access to care. Increase your range
of coverage and your ability to remotely diagnose • Increased member access to care. Offer telehealth
medical issues, which helps reduce overcrowding in benefits to provide your members with quicker access
hospitals. to care when needed, avoiding escalation of sickness
and reducing costs.

28
CASE STUDY: TELEHEALTH IN ACTION

New ambient telehealth consults replace menial

tasks with meaningful connections

Nuance and Microsoft have partnered to deliver new AI-powered ambient “The integrated Nuance-Microsoft Teams solution will
clinical intelligence that improves patient experiences while reducing be a game-changer for our clinicians and patients alike.
physician burnout. This new integration, called Nuance Dragon Ambient
eXperience (DAX), enables clinical documentation to essentially write This integration brings us the ease of use, reliability, and
itself during a patient consultation, so physicians can stop typing and give security of the Microsoft Teams platform for healthcare,
patients their full attention. and the ability to automatically capture and document
patient-physician encounters with Nuance DAX to
See how ambient clinical intelligence works 
significantly ease the burden of clinical documentation.”

—Dr. William Silver,

Medical Director, Triangle Region EmergeOrtho

29
04

Operational
analytics in
healthcare
Staffing management

Start with these questions What is staffing management?

What percentage of the total cost of running your organization Staffing management is the process of modeling and predicting optimal
involves staffing? staffing levels based on factors like predicted patient volume and the type and
complexity of patients being treated.
How do you determine staffing levels for your nursing units or clinics?
How can it help your organization?
How often do you face overstaffing or understaffing issues?
During a pandemic, proper staff allocation is a key way to prevent physician
burnout. Physician well-being is becoming a critical issue as unprecedented
numbers of patients flood hospitals worldwide.

Key benefits Even in non-crisis times, staffing is the single largest expense of any medical
organization delivering services to patients and consumers. In most hospitals,
For providers staffing represents more than half of all total expenses. Data and AI systems
Improved staff retention allow healthcare organizations to predict staffing levels with optimal accuracy
and efficiency.
Staff training
Staffing level assessment

31
Benefits of implementing Healthcare Employee
staffing management Retention is a solution that
uses client data to estimate
employee flight risk. It
includes a predictive model
and reporting that identifies
which employees might
resign based on historical
For providers
information from previous
• Improved staff retention. Improve the retention of hard-to-find specialty clinicians
team members.
to maintain sustainable teams. Use predictive analytics to understand when an
employee is at risk of resigning.

• Staff training. Measure the success of training programs to improve them. Good
training is critical in healthcare because clinician performance has a direct impact
on the well-being of patients.

• Staffing level assessment. Predict staffing levels and skill sets to optimize them
based on the number of patients and the level of acuity of care to be provided.
CASE STUDY: STAFFING MANAGEMENT IN ACTION

Greater Manchester Mental Health integrates

Microsoft technology to reach more mental health
patients

With a pandemic underway, the need for mental health services has skyrocketed.
Microsoft has been working overtime to help mental health organizations scale up
accordingly.

Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust, a trust that delivers mental
health services throughout Greater Manchester and Cumbria in the United Kingdom,
supports 6,000 staff across 100 locations, including mobile workers and consultants. To
meet the needs of this on-the-go workforce, the health system integrated some key
Microsoft products, including videoconferencing, to help them stay connected. Armed “We have only skimmed the surface of the
with the right technology, employees can now move wherever they need to in a secure, power that we have within [Microsoft Teams].”
seamless, and scalable way.

—Grace Birch,
All this support means that employees can focus on what’s most important: delivering
Associate Director of IM&T,
mental health resources to as many patients as possible in a time of great need.
Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust

See how Greater Manchester Mental Health stays connected 

33
Claims management

Start with these questions What is claims management?

What percentage of filed claims are being denied or require rework Claims management is the organization, billing, filing, updating, and processing of
before being paid? Are you seeing changes in this trend? medical claims related to patient diagnoses, treatments, and medications.

What are the top reasons for claims being denied? How can it help your organization?
Claims fraud, waste, and abuse are significant issues worldwide. They encompass
a wide spectrum of activities, including deceptive billing for services not rendered,
performing unnecessary medical services, and abusing payment rules by coding
services at higher levels than actually performed.
Key benefits
Denied claims represent extraordinary administrative costs to health providers and
For providers For payors
payors.
Claims management Claims and fraud
management
Denials and revenue Claims analytics helps you efficiently predict patterns and detect anomalies to fight
management Denial management fraud and waste.

34
Benefits of implementing analytics
for claims management

For providers For payors

• Claims management. Improve the • Claims and fraud management. Assess the
identification, management, and collection appropriateness of a claim and predict anomalies
of patient service revenue. within the entire claims data universe to
prevent fraudulent activities. For payors, claims
• Denials and revenue management. management is a critical aspect of determining
Reduce the number of denied claims, whether to pay or deny claims and of determining
a primary contributor to bad debt that the rate of payment for services a health provider
represents millions in lost net patient bills to the payor.
revenue every year.
• Denial management. Use analytics to track the
number of claims filed by providers that a payor
denies. For payors, denied claims create large
overhead costs.

35
CASE STUDY: CL AIMS MANAGEMENT IN ACTION

Cerner creates a single source of truth,

powered by Microsoft technology

Cerner’s data was in disarray. The global healthcare solutions

provider was saddled with disparate data sources, resulting in low
data confidence and poor data hygiene. At the same time, upper
management was pushing for greater adoption of cloud solutions
company-wide for the low-cost, high-automation benefits.

By leveraging Microsoft cloud technology, a solution was born.

Cerner created a new system called Beacon that provided a
single source of truth for data. Beacon is powered by a robust
“We are going in the direction of retiring OBIEE
set of Microsoft products, including the Microsoft Azure data
platform, Azure Data Factory, Azure Data Lake Analytics, and reporting. Our choice is to replace it with Power BI.
Azure Databricks, as well as Microsoft Power BI and Azure SQL Having datasets in Azure made it easier to start pivoting
Database. Using a powerful set of integrated tools set Beacon up in that direction.”
for maximum success.

—David Dvorak,
Learn more about Cerner’s data consolidation  Lead Technology Architect, Cerner Corporation

36
Cost management

Start with these questions What is cost management?

How do your operating costs compare to reimbursements? Cost management is a broad category relevant to all aspects of care delivery. It
encompasses evaluation of all major provider and payor systems that determine
the eventual cost of providing and paying for health and medical services.
What are your top cost drivers?

Do you have systems in place that help you predict costs so you can How can it help your organization?
better manage them?
Most provider and payor organizations today exist on razor-thin operating
margins. In most countries, the cost of providing and paying for care is rising
faster than reimbursements are increasing.

Key benefits Health providers and payors are using solutions that improve the management
of costs while maintaining the quality of services provided.
For providers For payors
Staffing optimization Fraud detection Cost management solutions use analytics to evaluate and improve the
Supply cost management Shorter patient stays efficiency of major systems used in providing health and medical services.

Throughput management Claims denial management

37
Benefits of implementing analytics for
cost management

For providers For payors

• Staffing optimization. Match staffing • Fraud detection. Spot potentially fraudulent
requirements—typically the largest single claims, including those miscoded to generate
cost—to the current and future mix of patients. higher payments.

• Supply cost management. Evaluate which • Shorter patient stays. Predict lengths of stay for
supplies are most cost-effective. covered services to estimate and minimize costs.

• Throughput management. Optimize the • Claims denial management. Predict which

flow of patients through facilities—typically claims will be denied, reducing the number of
the second-highest cost—including hospitals, denials and the cost of managing them.
emergency departments, operating theaters,
and imaging departments.

38
CASE STUDY: COST MANAGEMENT IN ACTION

How the NHS Business Services Authority used

AI to deliver better taxpayer value in socialized
medicine

When the United Kingdom’s NHS Business Services Authority needed

a better solution for processing 54 million prescriptions per month,
30 million of which were paper forms, Microsoft AI machine learning
technologies enabled the organization to streamline the process
through automation.

“We believe that we can do so much more by using AI to

Not only did Microsoft AI make the process much more scalable, but
read our documentation, to read more fields on that, and
it also created a 90 percent confidence rate in the data by removing
the manual element and the risk of human error. The integration also to read handwritten info, and to use that AI engine to
yielded long-term strategic benefits, as the wealth of data generated deliver better taxpayer value, to deliver better outcomes,
would go on to drive further data-driven insights and improvements.
and deliver better patient safety.”

See how the NHS Business Services Authority scaled

—Michael Brodie,
processes using machine learning 
Chief Executive, NHS Business Services Authority

39
05

Holistic analytics
in healthcare
Readmissions management

Start with these questions What is readmissions management?

What level of inpatient readmissions rates is your organization A hospital readmission occurs when a patient who has been discharged
currently experiencing? from a hospital is admitted again within a specific time interval. Avoidable
readmissions are a strong indicator of a fragmented healthcare system
Has your current performance with respect to readmissions affected that too often leaves discharged patients confused, consumes resources
your level of reimbursement? that are already stretched thin, and produces higher treatment costs.

Do you have a way to proactively assess which patients have the How can it help your organization?
highest risk of readmission?
Analytics solutions can be used to evaluate and predict which patients are
at risk for readmission, so hospitals can create a plan to reduce that risk.

Key benefits
For providers For payors
Readmittance risk analysis Reduced hospital readmissions rate
Reduced emergency department
bounce-back rate

41
Benefits of implementing
readmissions management

For providers For payors

• Readmittance risk analysis. “Risk rate” • Reduced hospital readmissions rate.
patients before a hospital stay, as they go Use analytics to help with reporting
through treatment and recovery, and as readmission rates and penalizing providers
part of the discharge process to assess whose rates are high.
their likelihood of being readmitted
following discharge. • Reduced emergency department
bounce-back rate. Reduce bounce-back—
an inpatient readmission that occurs
when a patient seen in an emergency
department returns after discharge
because the condition doesn’t improve
after the treatment.

42
Throughput management

Start with these questions What is throughput management?

What is the average occupancy of your inpatient facilities? The process known as throughput management includes systems and processes used to
manage the cycling of patients through a health organization’s physical facility.
How often are your facilities at capacity?
Scenarios include moving an inpatient through the hospital or moving an urgent care or
trauma case through the emergency department to either discharge or admission.
Do you ever have issues like long wait times in your emergency
department caused by variance in demand for services?
How can it help your organization?
With increasing patient demand and constrained physical resources, optimizing throughput
is an essential operations management strategy. The use of data and analytics to optimize
Key benefits inpatient throughput enhances patient access, reduces unit cost, and improves service levels,
leading to measurable value in metrics like reduced wait times, better use of capital, and an
For providers increased return on assets.
Hospital bed optimization

Improved patient satisfaction scores Improving throughput allows more patients to receive care at each facility, reducing the need
to add expensive new facilities or beds.
Shorter wait times

Improved patient transfer process

43
Benefits of implementing throughput
management

For providers
• Hospital bed optimization. Determine and predict the flow and progression of
inpatients through a system, thereby maximizing the use of patient rooms and facilities.

• Improved patient satisfaction scores. Correlate outcomes and experience data to

patient journey paths. Identify reengineering opportunities by observing correlations
and other data.

• Shorter wait times. Predict and manage variables like staffing to improve efficiencies in
care delivery in emergency departments.

• Improved patient transfer process. Help staff spot and resolve bottlenecks in inpatient
transfers within a facility (for example, a patient waiting to be admitted to intensive care,
where a bed is available but not yet cleaned).

44
CASE STUDY: THROUGHPUT MANAGEMENT IN ACTION

How Northwell Health used a Microsoft

chatbot to speed up data access exponentially

Northwell Health was on a mission to make medical information

much more accessible for healthcare providers. The result was
NORA, a chatbot extension for Microsoft Teams. NORA enables
“Microsoft Teams and the NORA app built inside it are
clinicians to use Teams chats to quickly get patient information, refill
prescriptions, and consult other specialists on the fly. the only technologies I’ve ever used that have actually
decreased my work. … The speed at which we can access
Learn how Northwell Health’s chatbot surfaces data  information and get lab results is truly revolutionary.”

—Dr. Mark Atlas,

Director, Fellowship Training Program Division of Pediatric Hematology/
Oncology and Stem Cell Transplantation, Northwell Health

45
06

Bringing it all
together:
Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare
Choosing the right provider is the key
to a seamless digital transformation

Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare is an industry-specific

solution that solves the most pressing needs of today’s
healthcare workers. Because healthcare providers have
enough on their plate, Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare
offers a simplified transformation journey.

Most importantly, Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare is a

trustworthy partner as well as a technology solution.
Microsoft will never share or monetize data. With
Microsoft, confidential patient information remains just
that: confidential.

47
The case for the The benefits of Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare include:

cloud is clear
• High-security governance standards surrounding healthcare data.

• Enhanced patient engagement.

Organizations that have moved to the cloud are already • A seamless alternative to siloed care and outdated systems.
experiencing the benefits of transformation across the board.
• Deeper clinical and operational insights from enhanced analytics.

• Improved health team collaboration.

• A secure way to share patient information across teams.

• Better continuity of care.

• Quicker scale, seamless infrastructure, and a robust partner ecosystem.

48
 07 Why it’s time to make the
move to the cloud
Keeping up with the • Patient expectations. Patients today expect the best of all worlds.

digital evolution
They expect the modern perks they experience in other industries,
like real-time alerts, personalized experiences, and intuitive
online tools. They also expect privacy, especially when it comes
to confidential health information. The cloud makes it easier to
deliver on these expectations.
Better experiences. Better insights. Better care.
• Breach protections. Cybercriminals are getting more sophisticated
The introduction of AI capabilities will change the game for healthcare and will target businesses of all sizes. The cloud helps prevent
providers. Microsoft is committed to leveraging technology to drive costly breaches and makes sure your data is safe. This ensures that
inclusive growth. Microsoft’s vision is to build a sustainable future for crucial patient trust remains intact and your corporate reputation
every company, everywhere. is protected.

• The need to unlock data. The rise in digital healthcare use in the
past year has created an unprecedented amount of data, most
of which is trapped in silos. The cloud enables organizations to
consolidate data sets. By consolidating data and then layering
on AI, it’s infinitely easier to draw actionable insights from this
mountain of data.

49
Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare is your
trusted partner
The right cloud provider ensures patient data is kept safe so that healthcare organizations
can reap the benefits of the cloud with minimized risk. Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare is a
trusted cloud solution that safeguards data and keeps breaches at bay.

Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare is a key step in Microsoft’s mission to empower every
person and organization on the planet to achieve more.

 Explore Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare

Sources
1
Decision Inc., “The Future of Business Resilience,” accessed December 28, 2020.

2
Optum, 3rd Annual Optum Survey on AI in Health Care, 2020.

3
Halsted R. Holman, “The Relation of the Chronic Disease Epidemic to the Health
Care Crisis,” ACR Open Rheumatology, National Center for Biotechnology Information,
February 19, 2020.

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