Teladoc Health is partnering with Microsoft to integrate telehealth into the Teams app for hospitals and health systems.
The combination of communications, collaboration and workflows in Microsoft Teams with Teladoc Health’s virtual care delivery technology will simplify the way care providers work by streamlining the technology and administrative processes associated with providing virtual care, according to the companies.
"We will deliver what hospitals and health systems want: integrated, enterprise solutions that make the full breadth of virtual care available in their daily workflows,” said Joseph DeVivo, president of hospitals and health systems at Teladoc Health, in a statement. “Our collaboration will deliver a more seamless, unified experience for clinicians and patients that makes healthcare better, leveraging leading data, artificial intelligence and machine learning expertise from both companies.”
During the COVID-19 pandemic, many hospitals and health systems adopted Microsoft Teams to connect clinicians and patients on video. Clinicians already have the ability to securely access clinical data included within their electronic health record system using Teladoc Health's Solo platform and will be able to do so without having to leave the Teams app, according to Teladoc.
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“This collaboration is focused on taking our aligned strategies and delivering on the last mile in healthcare,” said Tom McGuinness, corporate vice president of global healthcare at Microsoft. “Together, we will bring new and innovative tools to market that will not only improve patient care but increase health system efficiency overall.”
The tech giant has been working to build a technology platform that is compelling for healthcare organizations.
In October, Microsoft announced its Cloud for Healthcare service that brings together existing services such as Microsoft Teams, Azure IoT and chatbots to help healthcare organizations manage operations.
In April, the tech giant also released the first update for its Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare, which included a new Microsoft Teams and Epic EHR integration.
Microsoft also worked with Nuance for the past two years on artificial intelligence software that helps doctors record conversations with patients and integrate them into electronic health records. Microsoft's acquisition of Nuance, announced in April, is the latest step in Microsoft’s industry-specific cloud strategy.