Microsoft has announced the public preview release of its medical agent service for the Copilot Studio platform, aiming to support healthcare systems in developing AI assistants specifically tailored for medical tasks.

The healthcare sector is confronting multiple challenges, including rising costs, workforce shortages, and increasing demands for care. Clinical staff, from doctors to nurses, frequently endure high levels of stress and burdensome administrative duties, resulting in physical and mental exhaustion and significant staff turnover.

These AI agents are capable of managing a range of medical tasks, including scheduling appointments and matching patients for clinical trials. By automating routine processes, Microsoft aims to free up more time for doctors and nurses to focus on patient care.

Utilizing Copilot Studio, healthcare providers can build customized AI agents with reusable features, pre-built intelligence, and medical-specific templates. These agents can handle tasks such as scheduling appointments, matching patients for clinical trials, and triaging patients, allowing healthcare professionals to concentrate more on patient care. Additionally, the service supports extending the functionality of existing agents by integrating additional plugins, regardless of where these plugins are developed.

Recognizing the sensitivity of medical data, Microsoft has incorporated responsible AI practices throughout its medical agent service. The service is equipped with clinical safeguards, such as traceability tracking and clinical semantic validation, to ensure that AI-generated information is accurate, transparent, and reliable. These safeguards help prevent common issues associated with generative AI, such as inaccuracies or omissions, which are particularly critical when handling patient health matters.

Early adopters such as the Cleveland Clinic and Galilee Medical Center have collaborated with Microsoft to refine the service for medical applications. The Cleveland Clinic has utilized the service to streamline access to health information, enhance patient interactions, and ultimately improve care services. Dr. Dan Paz, Director of Radiology at Galilee Medical Center, also highlighted the benefits of integrating clinical safeguards into AI workflows, noting that the traceability of patient data has been enhanced, thereby increasing patient confidence in the reliability of AI-generated information.

Although the technology holds promising prospects, it remains in the early stages of development. Microsoft plans to closely collaborate with additional healthcare organizations to further refine these agents before proceeding with broader deployments. Currently, the company has not disclosed the pricing for the service.

This release is part of Microsoft's broader strategy in the medical AI sector, following its acquisition of Nuance Communications for $16 billion in 2021. As healthcare systems strive to address workforce shortages and clinician burnout, Microsoft believes that AI assistants can help alleviate the excessive workload burdens on clinical professionals.