Microsoft Health Future Vision – What will Microsoft’s role be?

Although this video was published in 2007, I think it’s fair to say that Microsoft’s Future Vision for Healthcare video isn’t outdated just yet. Video link.

What I initially found compelling about this video, of course, was the seamless connectivity from activity to device, from device to the cloud, from the cloud to physicians, and so on. However, it also begged the question, what will Microsoft’s role in all of this be? The video doesn’t hint at which Microsoft products will evolve to make this happen – be it Azure, HealthVault, smartphone technology etc -- and what the partner ecosystem might look like. However, it certainly implies some lofty goals for the company. Here’s what I think:

• Three screens and a cloud is loud and clear. The three part is up for grabs, as walls seem to have entered the equation in this video, but Microsoft’s notion of the paradigm shift in computing courses throughout this video. I think this speaks volumes about what they want their role to be. It seems they want to play a major role at all points of information capture and consumption. They want to provide relevant health information wherever you are
• Overcome a looming standards battle with APIs. They can’t win over everyone, but they must at least make it easy for healthcare providers to accept information from patients and to consume it in the ways that are most compatible with provider regulatory requirements and current management technologies.
• Forget about devices and overcoming existing EMR and practice management suites. Microsoft will need to be selective about its focus, and rather than reinvent the wheel, it needs insert itself as a conduit of actionable information and partner heavily at the edge for device compatibility and physician technologies.

It also highlighted, what I believe is, a major shortcoming of Microsoft’s current offering in the healthcare space – a de-emphasis of the networked patient. Does Microsoft understand the value of social networking among patient and physician communities? If so, why aren’t these a part of its current or future vision for managing the delivery of healthcare? Here’s what I think:

• Microsoft loses on supporting the long-tail. Communities have quite a role to play in serving not just the “blockbuster” ailments that people face, which are well known by most physicians, but also the more rare cases by easily connecting individuals and specialists who may have had similar experiences. (see the healthcare blog) Microsoft misses on this completely.
• Microsoft loses on network effects. Because it’s not making the links among patient groups and physician groups, there is little additional value added as a new member comes on board with HealthVault.

Agree? Disagree? What do you think?