Microsoft Copilot will transform the healthcare profession. Here’s how

As generative AI becomes better understood, attitudes towards the technology are shifting dramatically. This can be seen clearly in the healthcare sector, where practitioners are embracing AI applications as a much-needed boost to productivity.

New research from Avanade, a technology company that specialises in the Microsoft platform, has revealed that 56% of healthcare and life-science professionals already use AI daily in their current roles. The research also demonstrates a willingness across the sector to use Microsoft Copilot to help reduce the workload placed on staff.

Microsoft Copilot explained

Microsoft Copilot is a notable example of the new wave of tools that are operationalising generative AI and delivering significant benefits to healthcare providers as a result.

In a nutshell, Microsoft Copilot turbocharges Microsoft 365 applications through a large language model. This is a type of generative AI designed to understand and generate human-like text by analysing vast amounts of text – in this case the data generated by healthcare organisations through their use of Microsoft 365 applications. Think of a tool that can create first drafts, gather data, summarise text and much more, using nothing but simple text prompts.   

Increasing efficiency and productivity

Applied to healthcare, the most compelling use cases for Microsoft Copilot involve increasing the efficiency and productivity for doctors, nurses, and healthcare workers.

As the Avanade AI Readiness Report with 600 responses from health and life sciences professionals shows, most health industry leaders view AI as a tool to support healthcare providers and workers rather than replace them. They also see the potential for AI to make the care experience less time consuming.  For example, the use of AI to reduce time searching for patient data was rated highly as a potential use case.

Microsoft Copilot enables these and many other value-adding applications. As Rob Hazelton, executive and global lead for healthcare & life sciences,  puts it: “When considering what AI – and specifically Microsoft Copilot – can do for your organisation, there are many, many use cases that in some ways are only limited by your imagination. A world full of data is literally at your fingertips and on your screen waiting to be queried.”

Hazelton gives the examples of automated data analysis and report generation, natural language summaries of data to help track clinical trials, and the rapid conversion and analysis of data from multiple medical reports as just some of the ways in which Microsoft Copilot can benefit healthcare workers.

A more efficient way of working

With tools like Microsoft Copilot, healthcare professionals can reclaim time lost to form- filling or trawling through documents for relevant data – time that can be better spent caring for patients. Key to success is implementing the technology in a way that meets the unique needs of each healthcare setting.

Here, experts like Avanade, which has been a Microsoft Global SI Partner of the Year 18 times, can provide valuable assistance to CIOs by helping scope use cases, trial them, and then scale new applications in production environments. Such partnerships can accelerate time to deployment and ensure that organisations are using Microsoft Copilot to its full potential.

In 2024 generative AI will move from the headlines and into the workplace through tools like Microsoft Copilot, transforming healthcare in the process. Organisations that get started soonest stand to benefit the most.

Learn more about Microsoft Copilot and see how a doctor uses Copilot to reduce the time it takes to complete her documentation or how a nurse can use Copilot to communicate better with a patient. Meet them both here to learn more.