Companies unveil new technologies for driving patient engagement and new models of service delivery

System C & Graphnet Care Alliance announced today it would integrate next generation technologies from Microsoft Corp. directly into Alliance healthcare solutions in the U.K.

The alliance companies are working with Microsoft on transforming patient engagement, clinical communications and using machine learning to drive new models of care. 

System C and Graphnet already use Microsoft technologies, including Microsoft HealthVault, Microsoft Azure including Azure machine learning. 

The next generation products will be deployed at System C’s Global Digital Excellence partner, University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust, and will be promoted throughout the National Health Service. They will also be demonstrated at the HIMSS17 Conference in Orlando, Florida, next week.

Doctor Ian Denley, joint chief executive of System C, said: “Next generation healthcare IT is about agile clinician-friendly and patient-facing systems operating across care communities, and the integration of healthcare applications with modern communication tools. 

“The day of traditional monolithic systems is almost over. System C and Graphnet are leaders in the development of mobile clinical solutions and it is good being recognised as such on an international stage.”

As part of this new initiative Microsoft, System C and Graphnet are working together using a range of products and advanced APIs:

Microsoft HealthVault Insights

Microsoft HealthVault Insights is a new research-based project designed to generate new machine learning-based insights about patient health, drive adherence to care plans, and encourage patient engagement.

System C and Graphnet are using HealthVault Insights APIs to build planning and monitoring features directly into their CareCentric shared record and portal products, combining the personal information captured by wearables and direct patient input with clinical information held elsewhere in the shared care record, in order to transform patient engagement. 

Microsoft Office 365 toolkit for Microsoft partners

System C has integrated Skype for Business into its Careflow communication and care co-ordination app, a development which embeds video conferencing technology within clinical workflows. This means that clinicians across a care community can hold meetings and conversations with each other or with their patients, in a way which is secure, patient-identified and recorded as part of the clinical record. 

Microsoft Azure machine learning

The myCareCentric new models of care solutions are built by System C and Graphnet on technologies such as portals, wearables, instant messaging and Azure machine learning, to radically redesign services and the way clinicians and patients interact together. The myCareCentric Epilepsy app that System C and Graphnet are currently piloting in the U.K. for example, is designed to “learn” when someone is about to have a seizure and develop tools for patient care management.

Visitors to HIMSS17 will be able to see a demonstration of all solutions in the Microsoft stand, plus a demo of the HealthVault Insights technology in the Artificial Intelligence and Research section. 

Steve Gray, clinical systems programme director and chief information officer at UH Bristol, said: “It is very helpful for us to have our major software suppliers working together in this way. Microsoft products are used extensively across the NHS and this integration will allow us to benefit from the rich functionality available in both product sets. These new developments will bridge the gap between communication tools and healthcare solutions, making real-time clinical collaboration possible across the Trust and the wider health and care community in Bristol.”

“The ability to apply machine learning innovation in healthcare is key to alleviating some of the pressures on health and social care services worldwide,” said Heather Jordan Cartwright, group program manager in Microsoft Artificial Intelligence and Research at Microsoft Corp. “We are really pleased to be working with the System C & Graphnet Care Alliance as they deliver transformational solutions to patients and healthcare providers.”