CVS Health will Digitize its operations Use Microsoft’s services and jointly develop healthcare products with the tech giant to help its 30,000 employees provide consumer care more effectively.

The partnership, which merges Microsoft’s Azure cloud computing capabilities with CVS’s consumer healthcare services and Aetna insurance divisions, was announced on Thursday, as more and more healthcare companies pay more attention to digitalization. Insurance companies expect their technology budgets to grow by 13.7% in 2022, and most payers aim to invest in artificial intelligence, cloud, data privacy, and processing and analysis systems. Deloitte Financial Services’ 2022 Insurance Insight Report.

CVS was unable to answer questions about the financial terms of the five-year deal, whether there will be layoffs, and how this fits into the evolving business strategy of the retail giant.The new alliance was formed two weeks after the company was announced. Close 900 stores Over the next three years, reimagine what retail healthcare will look like.

CVS Chief Information Officer Roshan Navagamuwa said in a press release: “We are rapidly transforming into a consumer-centric integrated health solutions company, and everything we do adopts a digital-first, technologically cutting-edge approach.” Business services of this scale require a higher level of partnership. Our partnership with Microsoft will accelerate this work and enable our employees to provide more personalized and affordable quality care.”

Through the joint venture, CVS will have access to more than 1,500 business applications provided through Microsoft’s Azure cloud. The company plans to integrate the workflow of Microsoft Teams with its retail representatives to help CVS employees answer common customer questions.

Microsoft Teams previously announced that it will work with Teladoc Health Integrate virtual care into its social messaging platform.

CVS is also committed to digitizing and automating pharmacy services, with the goal of ultimately providing consumers with customized and convenient health advice. CVS has used Microsoft’s technology to build a platform that integrates patient information from CVS and uses machine learning to predict personal needs, such as sending personalized reminders to receive annual flu vaccine or cancer screenings, and providing information on personal drug side effects Consultation, and even remind fair skinned customers to buy sunscreen. The ultimate goal of CVS is to use Azure’s machine learning system to personalize its 10,000 retail stores and cultivate customer loyalty.

The company has digitized 40% of its specialty pharmacy claims.

Looking ahead, CVS plans to continue to deploy computer vision and text analysis in the Microsoft Azure cloud for the entire company’s medical system.

The company will also explore how Microsoft’s HoloLens augmented reality smart glasses, Dynamics 365 Guides on-the-job commentators and remote assistance tools can improve the productivity of its 30,000 employees. CVS and Microsoft will jointly develop Microsoft’s Azure AI and cognitive technology.

Microsoft Chief Commercial Officer Judson Althoff said in a press release: “We are very pleased to work with CVS Health for digital transformation, and to collaborate on how the company manages health data on a large scale, improves customer experience, and improves operational efficiency.” “With the help of Azure platform. With its AI capabilities, we will combine the power of data, the extensive influence of CVS Health’s world-class solutions, and Microsoft Teams to connect healthcare professionals and create customized care and services to enable people to live healthier lives.”

The announcement came a few weeks after Microsoft announced that it would update its healthcare-specific cloud products to join the tech giant’s existing Azure, Teams, and other services to help providers with telemedicine, care management, and patient engagement.

The company has integrated its Cloud for Healthcare service with multiple electronic health record systems such as Cerner.

Truvita Recently, it has also cooperated with Cloud for Healthcare to integrate the de-identified patient data of this 17 hospital group into Microsoft’s cloud service and product collection. The integration will help Truveta reach new researchers and pharmaceutical company customers who can use aggregated data and Azure’s AI tools to develop new products.