Not only in the U.S. but in most countries, healthcare is a blend. The absence of interoperability and fact-based guidance are some of the most significant issues in this data-rich era. Microsoft and IBM are two tech giants that stand out as actively seeking to remedy this.
Microsoft recently introduced the Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare simultaneously, offering unparalleled access to data both for the doctors and patents. Both strategies help to maximize the patient experience and outcome while minimizing costs.
IBM based its Watson AI on providing diagnostic resources to medical professionals to diagnose even the most enigmatic diseases more accurately.
Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare
Microsoft’s latest hospital offering is special and unique because it tackles a concern that has already arisen from IBM’s efforts: the lack of coordination and compatibility between health data repositories.
It still seems like it might be as convenient for malicious actors to access your medical data as it is for you, or your doctor, given all the effort to keep health data private. Even the best AI can’t deal with data sources that don’t speak to each other or allow the AI tool access. The Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare focuses on addressing data interoperability, which may be Microsoft’s latest best ability.
Microsoft didn’t interoperate well a couple of decades ago, and the European Commission said it had to correct that or be fined out of business. Although Microsoft initially resisted this campaign, it had an epiphany. It realized that it could be a strategic advantage if it were the best at interoperation, and the business turned entirely to the other side. Microsoft now supports ideas such as Open Source and Linux, including IBM, which previously made a similar flip and an interoperability champion.
In terms of data access and ease of use, Microsoft seems to be so much better than the one we can use. But the big question is, how easy it is to use for patients and physicians, or how easy it is to set up for administrators, isn’t the killer aspect of Microsoft’s Cloud for Healthcare. It’s the enormous effort made by Microsoft to allow seamless transfer between data repositories. This emphasis is so that physicians, patients, and AIs can access the knowledge they need to make informed suggestions and decisions.
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This effort is separated by one other thing: Microsoft’s immense emphasis on working with like-minded firms to make a fantastic solution. You see, no enterprise is big enough to address the healthcare crisis on its own. But the company is working on a project with more than 55 partners and together to resolve healthcare data issues.
IBM Watson and Healthcare
IBM’s Watson platform is one of the most effective tools I’ve seen applied to the healthcare crisis. It first came to the market based on this segment, and I had the opportunity to speak to the doctor leading the initiative.
He shared a story about a patient with a debilitating illness he’d run into years ago that nobody could diagnose. A chord struck his heart with the near-constant intense pain that ravaged the woman, and he devoted his time over the years to diagnosing and solving her problem. It turned out to be a very enigmatic and little-known disorder that only a handful of people had heard of, let alone been able to diagnose.
So one of the first doctor’s tests on Watson’s then-new medical implementation was to incorporate this now-healed patient’s symptoms to see if Watson could produce the same outcome in a reasonable period. Watson noticed many theories within minutes, including the unknown disease.
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Given that further tests may have taken several days to confirm which of those known diseases was the real affliction, the result would have been the same successful treatment shortly afterward — and shortened the patient’s years of suffering to just days, if not hours.
This is one of the most important stories you will ever read about human suffering using AI technology. It showed the then-high priority of IBM to concentrate its energies on helping people; and laid a foundation for the organization’s AI conviction: AIs are best as human assistants, not as substitutes.
Conclusion: Better Together
Interestingly, Microsoft and IBM were among the most potent collaborations that ever existed, which produced the personal computer as most of us know it. Both tech giants divorced because they were identical in the wrong direction (nobody liked to share) and were different in terms of technologies.
Both firms have changed how they do business remarkably. All have significant cloud efforts now and are technologically more similar. Culturally, where it counts, they are identical. They enjoy sharing now and have decent partnering abilities.
As a result, Microsoft’s new medical solution has the support of IBM and the backing of many other leading industry players. They set an excellent example that the industry must acknowledge through cooperation. Because the pandemic reminded us that our apartments, businesses, and particularly our families endure, we do not focus on healthcare.