Multiyear alliance creates basis for innovation and deeper insights with information

REDMOND, Wash., and ST. LOUIS — Sept. 27, 2023 — Microsoft Corp. and Mercy are forging a long-term collaboration utilizing generative AI and different digital applied sciences to present physicians, advance observe suppliers and nurses extra time to take care of sufferers and enhance the affected person expertise. This work represents what’s subsequent in healthcare for making use of superior digital applied sciences to the supply of care to customers.

“With the newest advances in generative AI, this second marks a real section change the place rising capabilities might help well being care organizations deal with a few of their most urgent challenges, create wanted effectivity and remodel care,” mentioned Peter Lee, company vice chairman of analysis and incubations at Microsoft. “Mercy has a fame for ongoing innovation and — by way of our years working collectively — has been a pacesetter within the business in creating an clever information platform on which to launch this sort of transformation. That is only the start, and it’s inspiring to see Mercy’s management adopting these instruments to empower physicians, suppliers, nurses and all clinicians to enhance affected person care.”

Mercy plans to make use of Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service to enhance care in a number of fast new methods:

• Sufferers may have the knowledge to raised perceive their lab outcomes and have interaction in additional knowledgeable discussions about their well being with their supplier by way of the assistance of generative AI-assisted communication. Sufferers shall be empowered to get solutions in easy, conversational language.
• Mercy will apply generative AI when taking affected person requires actions like scheduling appointments. Past the preliminary name, the AI resolution will present suggestions for added follow-up actions to verify all of the affected person’s wants are met throughout a single interplay, limiting the necessity for follow-up calls.
• A chatbot for Mercy co-workers will assist shortly discover essential details about Mercy insurance policies and procedures, and find HR-related solutions comparable to info on advantages or depart necessities. By serving to nurses and colleagues discover the knowledge they want extra shortly, they’ll spend extra time on affected person care.

“Due to all of the investments we now have made along with Microsoft up to now few years, together with the usage of Microsoft’s safe cloud, we’re higher positioned to carry out real-time scientific decision-making that finally improves affected person care,” mentioned Joe Kelly, Mercy’s govt vice chairman of transformation and enterprise improvement officer. “With Microsoft, we’re exploring greater than 4 dozen makes use of of AI and can launch a number of new AI use circumstances by the center of subsequent yr to remodel care and experiences for sufferers and colleagues. That is predictive, proactive and personalised care at its greatest.”

As Mercy’s most well-liked platform for ongoing innovation, the Microsoft Cloud gives the well being system with a trusted and complete platform to enhance effectivity, join and govern information, influence affected person and co-worker expertise, attain new communities, and construct a basis for ongoing innovation. By securely centralizing and organizing information in an AI-powered clever information platform constructed on Azure, Mercy is uniquely positioned to ship on evolving clinician and affected person expectations extra shortly. For instance, Mercy can faucet into safe information insights to cut back many pointless affected person days within the hospital by giving care groups sensible dashboards and higher visibility into the components that influence how quickly sufferers can return dwelling. Moreover, Microsoft’s trendy work options will assist Mercy co-workers enhance productiveness and communication to allow them to spend extra time enhancing affected person care and expertise.

“Mercy and Microsoft are creating a brand new path for well being methods during which we’re working shoulder to shoulder to mix our 200-year heritage in well being care and Microsoft’s intensive experience in cloud and AI to reinforce take care of the sufferers we serve and enhance the working expertise for our physicians, superior suppliers, nurses and all co-workers,” mentioned Steve Mackin, Mercy’s president and CEO. “By utilizing know-how in new and safe methods, we innovate higher well being take care of all.”

The organizations not too long ago introduced collectively Mercy’s engineering groups and senior leaders with Microsoft leaders, engineers and business consultants for a hackathon to co-imagine and start to co-innovate across the generative AI use circumstances in improvement. Moreover, Microsoft and Mercy are working collectively to showcase Mercy’s options within the Microsoft Know-how Heart (MTC) in Chicago in 2024. The showcase will spotlight transformational scientific experiences and display what the way forward for well being care might seem like utilizing Microsoft know-how.

About Mercy

Mercy, one of many 20 largest U.S. well being methods and named the highest massive system within the U.S. for glorious affected person expertise by NRC Well being, serves hundreds of thousands yearly with nationally acknowledged high quality care and one of many nation’s largest Accountable Care Organizations. Mercy is a extremely built-in, multi-state well being care system together with greater than 40 acute care, managed and specialty (coronary heart, youngsters’s, orthopedic and rehab) hospitals, handy and pressing care areas, imaging facilities and pharmacies. Mercy has 900 doctor practices and outpatient amenities, greater than 4,000 physicians and superior practitioners and greater than 45,000 co-workers serving sufferers and households throughout Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma. Mercy additionally has clinics, outpatient providers and outreach ministries in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas.

About Microsoft

Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT” @Microsoft) allows digital transformation for the period of an clever cloud and an clever edge. Its mission is to empower each particular person and each group on the planet to realize extra.

For extra info, press solely:

Microsoft Media Relations, WE Communications for Microsoft, (425) 638-7777, [email protected]

Bethany Pope, Mercy, (314) 251-4472 workplace, [email protected]

Joe Poelker, Mercy, (314) 525-4005 workplace, (314) 724-6095 cell, [email protected]

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