Unlock efficiency and quality of care with Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare Care management

An unprecedented amount of data exists in healthcare. Health organizations are often challenged with collecting, collating, assimilating, and making valuable use of that data. Care management in healthcare involves a complex web of patient information, communication, and manual processes that without integration can hinder the delivery of efficient and coordinated care. Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare is poised to reimagine care management by using this wealth of information to provide immediate insights and enable data-driven decisions. 

Care management is the coordinated approach to healthcare that improves care for individuals with complex conditions through planning, coordination, and monitoring. Its goal is to enhance patient well-being, promote self-care, and reduce costs. Care managers serve as a central point of contact, ensuring all members of the care team are working together and avoiding duplications in the process. Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare seeks to assist care managers in providing data-driven care with Unified patient view, care plans, care coordination, and virtual health capabilities. 

Unified patient view 

Unified patient view, available in Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare, is where patient data can be visualized, including demographic information and clinical data. Unified patient view is a building block for health organizations to create interoperable custom applications. By utilizing Unified patient view, care teams can access a holistic and complete picture of a patient’s healthcare journey. This comprehensive view encompasses various aspects, including medical and interaction history as well as nonclinical information about the patient across different healthcare settings.  

With Unified patient view, care managers can also assess the patient’s care using a clinical timeline. This chronological record of a patient’s medical events includes conditions, encounters, medications and treatments, diagnostic tests, specialist consultations, allergies, and care plans. Data-driven care management can improve patient outcomes and empower care managers to make informed decisions, deliver personalized care, enhance care coordination, engage patients, and contribute to the overall improvement of healthcare delivery and outcomes.

Personalized care plans  

Every patient is unique, and their care plans should reflect their individual needs and goals. Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare Care management empowers providers to create personalized care plans that are tailored to each patient’s specific conditions, preferences, and circumstances. Personalized care plans include templates, goals, and activities. Tapping into patient data, clinical guidelines, and evidence-based practices, providers can develop comprehensive care plans that promote patient engagement, adherence, and self-management. This approach ensures that the care plan is tailored to the individual, optimizes information gathering, enables focused goal setting, provides actionable steps, and allows for necessary adjustments throughout the care journey.  

Generating a care plan by combining various templates 

Organizations can utilize care plan templates to customize patient care to provide a structured guide for organizing essential components of a care plan, such as medical conditions, goals, interventions, and evaluation criteria. Templates can be created by the health organization, or imported from Microsoft or other third-party organizations. By developing these templates for common conditions, preferences, and goals, healthcare providers can efficiently deliver comprehensive care plans that are both standardized and personalized. This approach saves time, ensures critical elements are included, and allows for a patient-centered approach to care planning. 

Consolidated view of patient’s goals and activities 

Care managers can effectively monitor and track patients’ adherence to these activities through a single-pane consolidated view of the goals and activities associated with the care plan.  

In the example below, the patient has been assigned a goal to stay active every day in an effort to manage their diabetes. The physician assigned specific fitness activities, including walking a mile a day and practicing yoga for 20 minutes. Additional goals and activities around monitoring blood glucose levels, eating a balanced diet with a target carb-to-protein and fat goal, and taking medication as prescribed may also be part of the patient’s personalized care plan. The physician can track progress and adherence to the plan at their next appointment.  

The data is then visualized in a comprehensive overview which allows care managers to easily assess the progress of each goal and the corresponding activities. With this visual representation, care managers can efficiently identify any gaps or areas of concern, enabling them to provide timely support and intervention. 

Enhance health team coordination and collaboration 

Care coordination is a complex process involving multiple stakeholders, including primary care physicians, specialists, nurses, and allied healthcare professionals. Modern care management platforms facilitate seamless collaboration and information sharing among care teams. With care coordination, providers can more effectively orchestrate care, leading to improved care transitions and reduced medical errors. 

• Reduce the administrative burden and help avoid burnout by simplifying complex workflow management and automating tasks. 

• Enable faster, easier, secure communication among care teams and healthcare professionals. 

• Onboard new members quickly and keep the whole workforce on the same page. 

Virtual care for patient engagement 

With virtual platforms, patients can conveniently connect with their healthcare providers, regardless of their location, eliminating the need for travel and reducing waiting times. These appointments facilitate effective communication between patients and providers, enabling thorough discussions of health concerns, treatment options, and care plans. Patients become active participants in their healthcare journey, with increased access to health information, educational resources, and shared decision-making. This level of engagement empowers individuals to take control of their health, leading to better adherence to treatment plans and improved overall health outcomes. Virtual appointments also enhance healthcare efficiency, allowing providers to reach a broader patient population, manage resources effectively, and deliver personalized care. 

Further, by integrating device data support inside Care management, care managers can access the patient’s vital data, assess trends, and determine the next best actions for their patient. This enables clinical users to stay on top of a patient’s long-term health. Learn more about device data support for Care management.

Global partner ecosystem 

The landscape of care management for the healthcare ecosystem is undergoing a remarkable transformation, fueled by technological advancements and innovative strategies. As part of our Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare strategy, we engineer our solutions to capitalize on the expertise of partners with deep industry-specific knowledge. Harnessing the power of data, streamlining care coordination, embracing personalized care plans, promoting patient engagement, and ensuring smooth care transitions, our global partner ecosystem further helps providers unlock new levels of efficiency, quality, and patient satisfaction. Partners such as Hitachi Solutions, PwC, Quisitive, and many others have leveraged the Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare data models to address industry-specific needs through their third-party applications.

Hitachi Solutions’ Engage and Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare deliver personalized experiences to engage patients and members through every point of care. The Engage solution enables better care coordination and trusted member experiences using a 360-degree view to create tailored care plans and personalized member experiences. Hitachi Solutions’ Empower solution leverages the latest advancements in AI, healthcare data models, and Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR) interoperability to empower clinical and predictive care insights to improve diagnostics, provide personalized care management, and enhance operational efficiencies.  

PwC’s Care Management Solution enables end-to-end orchestration of core care management capabilities into one coalesced workflow leveraging Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare, Microsoft Dynamics 365, and Azure. The solution leverages PwC’s differentiated experience in care coordination and operational excellence while utilizing logic and business rules to identify risks, customize care plans, and monitor gaps in care, while also accounting for social determinants of health.

Quisitive’s MazikCare Care Path empowers patients and providers to collaborate on comprehensive care plans, access health services, and promote better health outcomes. Leveraging Microsoft Dynamics 365, Azure, and Power Platform, MazikCare Care Path offers a complete digital front door for care coordination and management across home health, chronic care, transition care, and prescription and vaccine management. MazikCare Care Path allows providers and physicians to leverage patient-specific data to create personalized digital treatment plans, automate referrals, and streamline treatment pathways to reduce wait time, costs, and administrative burdens.

Learn more 

• Sign up for a free limited trial of Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare.
• Enable early access features in Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare.
• The latest Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare capabilities optimizes payor and provider productivity.  

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Source: Microsoft Industry Blog