Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/1539464
20 INNOVATION 12 Big Tech health system partnerships By Giles Bruce H ealth systems continue to partner with Big Tech on AI and digital health projects. Here are 12 collaborations Becker's reported on in the past month. 1. Nashville, Tenn.-based Vanderbilt University Medical Center said Aug. 26 it is planning to expand Microso's DAX Copilot for AI-generated clinical documentation to inpatient providers as early as this fall. 2. Charleston, S.C.-based Roper St. Francis Healthcare had a grand opening Aug. 25 for a cafe and gi shop powered by Amazon AI that allows customers to "just walk out" with their purchases. 3. e use of ambient AI scribes, including Microso's, has led to a sharp drop in burnout and an increase in well-being among clinicians at Somerville, Mass.-based Mass General Brigham and Atlanta-based Emory Healthcare, an Aug. 21 JAMA Network Open study found. 4. Hartford (Conn.) HealthCare is expanding its collaboration with Amazon's One Medical with plans to add new care sites across Connecticut, building on a three-year partnership that began in 2022, Becker's reported Aug. 21. 5. Nearly two years aer announcing a partnership with Amazon's One Medical, Tacoma, Wash.-based Virginia Mason Franciscan Health says the collaboration is driving steady patient growth, expanding primary care access and pushing the health system to adapt more quickly to consumer expectations, Becker's reported Aug. 20. 6. e AI road map at Charlotte, N.C.-based Advocate Health includes the world's largest deployment of Microso's DAX Copilot, Becker's reported Aug. 5. 7. Detroit-based Henry Ford Health is using AI to generate PowerPoint presentations and strategic plans and tactics using its Microso platform, Becker's reported Aug. 4. 8. Pittsburgh-based UPMC and UChicago Medicine joined Alphabet venture capital arm GV (Google Ventures) as investors in a $55 million series C funding round July 31 for Ultromics, which developed an AI tool for cardiology with Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic. 9. e Trump administration on July 30 unveiled a public-private partnership to create a more connected and user-friendly digital health system for patients and providers, with supporters including Amazon, Apple, Google and health systems Sanford Health (Sioux Falls, S.D.), Cleveland Clinic, Bon Secours Mercy Health (Cincinnati), Intermountain Health (Salt Lake City), AtlantiCare (Atlantic City, N.J.), Providence (Renton, Wash.), and Froedtert edaCare Health (Milwaukee). 10. Health systems are increasing their adoption of Microso's ambient AI for clinical documentation, the company said July 30, including Chesterfield, Mo.-based Mercy, where more than 1,000 physicians are now using Dragon Copilot. 11. Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA Healthcare is piloting a generative AI-powered tool developed with Google aimed at improving how nurses exchange patient information during shi changes, one of the most routine — but critical — tasks in hospital care, Google said July 29. 12. Providence providers are saving 2.5 hours a week of aer-hours work with Microso's ambient AI, the health system's researchers found in a July study. n University Hospitals taps its VC arm to help set priorities By Naomi Diaz U niversity Hospitals in Cleveland is giving UH Ventures — its innovation and commercialization arm — a larger role in shaping systemwide priorities, even as it holds steady on its venture investment strategy amid financial pressures. "We have not done any major restructuring in light of the current financial pressures and budget constraints; however, we are seeing more and more companies leveraging AI tools that impact operational efficiencies," Neil Wyant, vice president and managing director of UH Ventures, told Becker's. For nearly a decade, UH Ventures has measured its performance by its impact on the quadruple bottom line — revenue, operations, patient experience and caregiver experience. "These pillars continue to guide our venture investment decisions," Kipum Lee, PhD, vice president of UH Ventures, told Becker's. In early 2024, University Hospitals turned to UH Ventures' in-house innovation team — rather than an outside consulting agency — to help shape systemwide strategy. Dr. Lee said the team applied the same human-centered design and innovation frameworks that have fueled its commercialization work to identify high-value problems, bring together key stakeholders, and highlight the most important opportunities for the health system. "This has helped the organization synthesize and align around three core strategic priorities to drive clarity, focus and discipline across the enterprise," he said. University Hospitals launched UH Ventures in 2019. It fosters innovative ideas from staff through its UH Caregiver program, supports outside healthcare startups, collaborates with industry partners on product development, and teams with other VC and health system investors on funding rounds. n