AXA has announced that it is working with Microsoft to build a new, fully integrated digital healthcare platform.
The insurance giant said it will aim to simplify healthcare journeys and ’empower’ customers, using the platform to provide a ‘virtual healthcare system’ that is ‘open to all’.
By combining AXA’s ‘global reach’, plus their healthcare, insurance and technology architecture experience with Microsoft’s cloud-based computing and AI expertise, the aim is to work with clinical partners and third-party vendors to create linked digital health services that will guide and support users through an ‘e-health experience’.
The new platform will rely on the portfolio of technology in the Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare suite, including Azure API for FHIR (Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources).
A pilot programme had already been launched in Italy and Germany last year. This featured a self-assessment tool, teleconsultation and a ‘medical concierge’ for appointments – and AXA has revealed that the full platform will offer these services, plus a digital document vault and home care services such as medicine delivery.
A statement on the international insurance company’s website said they hoped to ‘break down health service silos’ to ‘improve research, treatments and prevent diseases’. AXA’s tailored services for local health networks are already available in Italy and Germany following the pilot, with deployment in nations such as the UK, Belgium, Spain and Switzerland set to follow in 2022.
Thomas Buberl, Chief Executive Officer at AXA, is quoted as saying: “AXA is a world leader in healthcare. Our objectives in this field are among the top priorities of our Driving Progress 2023 strategic plan. This ambition is further strengthened today in the face of the current historic worldwide public health crisis.
“In many countries, the fragmentation, complexity and costs of health systems are a barrier to access to care. This new ecosystem of services that we have developed with Microsoft is a powerful lever to provide customers with access to the best healthcare solutions.”
