Microsoft has introduced a range of new artificial intelligence (AI) features within its Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare. These enhancements aim to connect care experiences, boost team collaboration, empower healthcare workers, and deliver both clinical and operational insights, as stated in a press release on Thursday (October 10). “Microsoft’s AI-driven solutions are pivotal in streamlining workflows, enhancing data integration, and leveraging AI to achieve improved outcomes for healthcare professionals, researchers, scientists, payers, providers, MedTech developers, and ultimately the patients they serve, ” said Joe Petro, corporate vice president of healthcare and life sciences solutions and platforms at Microsoft. Among the new offerings are healthcare AI models that allow organizations to integrate and analyze a variety of data types, such as medical imaging, genomics, and clinical records. Additionally, Microsoft announced that its healthcare data solutions in Microsoft Fabric are now generally available, creating a unified AI-driven platform for healthcare organizations to access, manage, and utilize data effectively. Another new feature revealed in the press release is the public preview of the healthcare agent service in Copilot Studio.

This service enables organizations to develop Copilot agents for tasks such as appointment scheduling, clinical trial matching, and patient triaging. “We're at a transformative juncture where breakthroughs in AI are significantly altering how we work and live, ” Petro remarked in the release. “These advancements across the healthcare and life sciences sectors are notably improving patient care and revitalizing the joy of practicing medicine for clinicians. ” According to the PYMNTS Intelligence and AI-ID collaboration titled “Generative AI Can Elevate Health and Revolutionize Healthcare, ” the generative AI market for healthcare is expected to reach $22 billion by 2032. The report also highlighted that this technology is transforming providers' diagnostics, treatment plans, and care delivery, while also enhancing researchers' capabilities and speeding up drug discovery and diagnostics. An increase in billion-dollar investments is propelling a surge in AI in the healthcare sector, as reported by PYMNTS in August. In a separate announcement on Thursday, healthcare AI company Suki revealed it had secured $70 million in new funding to further develop its products, including its AI-powered voice assistant designed for clinicians.