Microsoft Unveils New Healthcare AI Tools
upstart writes:
Should I be more or less scared of the doctor?
The products include a service that helps healthcare organizations build their own AI agents:
Microsoft revealed a slew of new artificial intelligence capabilities for healthcare organizations Thursday, including a product to help companies to build their own AI agents.
The technology giant also announced foundation models for medical imaging and a healthcare data analysis platform, as well as details about its plans to build an AI documentation product geared toward nurses.
Healthcare organizations have shown increased interest in adopting AI tools, even as some experts and lawmakers raise questions about its safe and equitable use. Tech companies say the products have potential to help providers manage their workloads and alleviate burnout.
"We're at an inflection point. AI breakthroughs are changing, augmenting how we work and live," Kees Hertogh, vice president for healthcare and life sciences product marketing, said during a press briefing. "The integration of AI into healthcare has significantly enhanced patient care and is rekindling the joy of practicing medicine for clinicians."
Microsoft's agent service would allow companies to create AI tools with pre-built templates and data sources that could be used for appointment scheduling, clinical trial matching and patient triage, Hertogh said.
The service is currently in public preview, which allows wider access to the tools and lets organizations give feedback on the product, according to a spokesperson.
In one example, a doctor could ask an AI agent to find clinical trials for a 55-year-old patient with diabetes and interstitial lung disease.
[...] The product allows organizations to build agents with healthcare-specific features using intelligence from credible sources, which aims to improve safety, said Hadas Bitran, partner general manager of health AI at Microsoft Health and Life Sciences.
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