Microsoft have always been interested in developing solutions to help sectors with unique challenges and demands, and the healthcare sector definitely fits that definition. The healthcare sector has always been at the cutting edge of technology development – for example, the medical industry has been the beneficiary of NASA-funded technology innovations.
There are other ways in which technology has made an influence on the healthcare sector, too. For example, the running of healthcare organisations, the delivery of care and services has been influenced by technologies and solutions that most of us would associate with more of a corporate setting. A good example of this is the way in which the Microsoft Cloud can be leveraged to modernize operations and workflows in the healthcare sector. We discussed this with a Microsoft Partner based in London, who specialises in managed services and small business IT support London companies have relied on for over a decade.
What is the Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare?
For those unsure of what exactly the Microsoft Cloud is, this: It is an ecosystem of products and services that are all hosted in Microsoft’s cloud datacentres. Some products and services may be known by most people, whereas others are a bit more obscure. Below is a breakdown of the services that form the Microsoft Cloud:
Microsoft 365
This will be the product that most people will be familiar with. Microsoft 365 contains an array of apps and services that are frequently utilized in business – and the purpose of this line of products is to equip organisations and individuals with all the professional tools they need; which is why the managed IT services London businesses get from TechQuarters usually includes purchasing M365 licenses. The products included in Microsoft 365 are:
| · Microsoft Word
· Microsoft Excel · Microsoft PowerPoint · Microsoft OneNote · Microsoft OneDrive |
· Microsoft SharePoint
· Microsoft Teams · Microsoft Outlook · Microsoft Exchange |
Microsoft Azure
The Microsoft Cloud also includes Microsoft Azure, which is a cloud platform consisting of around 200 different services, which can be split into 3 main categories: Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Software as a Service (SaaS).
Azure is mainly used by businesses in order to digitally transform their organisation – in other words, by getting rid of their services and other on-premise infrastructure, in favour of a virtualised infrastructure hosted in the cloud. Cloud infrastructures are generally preferable, as they are easier to manage – TechQuarters told us that, while providing IT support for healthcare organisations, they usually recommend organisations eventually migrate to a cloud infrastructure.
The Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare includes a number of services that can be found in Azure, including:
- Azure Health Data Services
- Azure Health Bot
Microsoft Dynamics 365
Microsoft Dynamics 365 is a cloud platform containing a range of applications that provide Customer Relationship Management and Enterprise Resource Planning capabilities. It is within this product where most of the Healthcare specific solutions can be found. These solutions include the following:
Home Health – This is an extension of a solution in Dynamics 365 called Field Service, which is designed to aid in the delivery of off-site services. In the context of Healthcare, this means streamlining the scheduling and coordination of medical house calls.
Patient Outreach – Dynamics 365 Marketing, another solution in the Dynamics platform, is enhanced with the Healthcare framework. This makes the solution suitable for patient outreach – for example, the creation of targeted email campaigns for patients.
Patient Service Centre – The Customer Service solution in Dynamics 365 serves as the foundation of the Patient Service Centre, which streamlines patient monitoring, the coordination of follow up appointments, and remote patient contact (i.e. telephone calls).
