Microsoft expands AI tools for healthcare providers

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) unveiled several new artificial intelligence-powered tools for healthcare providers today through its Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare platform.

These include new healthcare AI models through Azure AI Studio, data management and security in Microsoft Fabric, healthcare AI agents through Copilot Studio and AI-driven solutions for nursing workflows.

The new AI models are expected to handle tasks ranging from genomics to analyzing clinical records.

“The development of foundational AI models in pathology and medical imaging is expected to drive significant advancements in cancer research and diagnostics,” said Carlo Bifulco, MD, chief medical officer of Providence Genomics.

Microsoft also launched a new healthcare data management system through Microsoft Fabric, which is available for public preview, the company said.

Meanwhile, healthcare AI agents have already been utilized by hospitals such as the Cleveland Clinic. These agents are intended to automate administrative tasks and analyze data.

Other cloud software companies are getting more involved in healthcare, including Salesforce (CRM), whose latest offering Agentforce, also provides pre-built and customizable AI agents for the healthcare industry.

Finally, Microsoft is also releasing AI technology to relieve some of the burden on nurses, especially in the face of expected workforce shortages. The World Health Organization expects a shortage of 4.5M nurses and 300,000 midwives by 2030.

“AI is transforming nursing workflows by streamlining administrative tasks, allowing nurses to focus more on patient care,” said Corey Miller, vice president of R&D at Epic.

“It allows us to focus more on patient care rather than the administrative burden of documentation,” added Terry McDonnell the chief nurse executive at Duke University Health System.