Microsoft at HIMSS 2019: Champions of health unite

It's finally here. HIMSS 2019 officially starts today.

Every year, the health industry's brightest innovators come to HIMSS to educate, intrigue, and inspire attendees with fresh ideas and creative solutions to some of the most prevalent and persistent challenges in modern health. This year, I am excited that we will get to show our progress towards making healthcare innovation real, and the impact that this is already having on improving people's lives.

Experience new product innovations

Just last week Microsoft announced several new product innovations that will empower health organizations and care teams, improve clinical and operational outcomes and advance precision healthcare, while keeping patients at the core. At HIMSS 2019 during our Microsoft Health Forum on February 13th, you'll have the opportunity to get hands-on with how Microsoft is speaking the language of healthcare:

• Microsoft 365 for healthcare-through new capabilities in Microsoft Teams healthcare teams can now communicate and collaborate in a single secure hub and tap valuable data in electronic health records.
• Microsoft Healthcare Bot, available now, will enable health organizations to create AI-powered, compliant chatbots and virtual assistants to empower care providers and improve outcomes
• Azure API for FHIR ® is helping health systems interoperate, share data in the cloud, and easily connect health data to collaboration tools and other clinical systems

Explore AI and Machine Learning

From advancing bioinformatics to enabling care teams and providing people with convenient, intelligence health chatbots, Microsoft in partnership with health thought leaders are exploring exactly how to best apply AI and machine learning in health tech today-and into the future.

On Feb. 12, we will host an industry solution session on the ethics of AI in healthcare. The panel will feature two leading organizations-Cleveland Clinic and the American Medical Association-to discuss the role of AI in healthcare, explore the ethical and societal implications, and help define ethical guardrails for responsible use of AI in health tech.

Catch up on healthcare interoperability

To create a world of better healthcare, we must harness the progress we've made in the digitization of health data and turn it into insight and action. Of course, we have to do it in a secure, compliant manner that protects patient data privacy, and we won't be able to do any of it until we create a world of truly interoperable health data.

Last August, I had the pleasure of standing alongside representatives from Google, Amazon, IBM, Oracle, and Salesforce to announce an important and influential healthtech initiative-our joint commitment to interoperability across healthcare technology. Since then, all the parties involved have taken meaningful steps to ensure that all major healthcare technology can function as part of a single connected ecosystem, built on a common language.

Healthcare is still at a very early stage of the overall interoperability journey, but Microsoft and its partners are making significant progress on our shared plans. Join us for a HIMSS interoperability panel on Thursday, February 14^th, and help us explore what healthcare providers can achieve in the years to come through interoperability.

Discover the future

Look for Microsoft at HIMSS 2019 and see for yourself how the most innovative organizations in healthcare are using new technologies to create better experiences, gain better insights, and deliver better care.

Sign up for live updates at our dedicated HIMSS 2019 event page-and follow us live on Twitter and Facebook.