In my work with startups in the health and life sciences space, I have the opportunity to see which stumbling blocks commonly arise when companies are going from ideation to minimal viable product (MVP). To that end, I’ve curated a set of resources to help you navigate the most common pitfalls I see with health and life science (HLS) startups.
Microsoft Cloud for Health
With the recently released Microsoft Cloud for Health, startups are eager to understand what it is and how it might impact the industry. Additionally, many founders are eager to know what our strategy is for each of the industry segments we serve, i.e., providers, payers, and pharmaceutical, life sciences and medical device companies. These links will help you understand Microsoft’s positioning and where your startup fits within that framework. It’s important to remember that Microsoft is, as Satya Nadella, our CEO and Board Chair stated, a “productivity and platform company.” We don’t build healthcare solutions, our partners – and startups, do. So, check out these resources to learn more about our HLS strategy.
- Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare
- Global Healthcare Provider Solutions | Microsoft Industry
- Health Payors – Technology in Healthcare | Microsoft Industry
- Pharmaceutical and Life Sciences | Microsoft Industry
- Microsoft Vaccination Management | Microsoft
- Healthcare and Life Sciences Blog
- Health – Microsoft Industry Blogs
Getting Started: Technical Links
From a technical perspective, the architecture of the Microsoft Cloud for Health is critical to understand. The following includes links to documentation for HLS specific technologies as well as general resources to help you optimize your solution on the Microsoft Cloud.
- Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare Architecture Docs
- Improve clinical and operational insights | Microsoft Docs
- Health Bot
- Azure Health Data Services – FHIR, DICOM & MedTech | Microsoft Azure
- Microsoft Teams Dev Center | APIs and App Development (Teams for care coordination, virtual visits and EMR integration.)
- Dynamics 365 and Microsoft Power Platform release plans | Microsoft Docs to manage workflows using EMR data
- Dynamics 365 for patient engagement to improve patient relationships and outcomes
Regulatory Links
While last on this list, regulatory requirements often top of the list of considerations when developing a product road map. While Microsoft doesn’t offer legal or regulatory guidance of any sort, here are assets that can help you better understand the security, compliance and regulatory aspects of the Microsoft Cloud.
- Security in Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare | Microsoft Docs
- Compliance in Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare | Microsoft Docs
- Azure compliance offerings | Microsoft Docs
- HIPAA Compliance Microsoft Office 365 and Microsoft Teams
- Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) & Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act
- HIPAA HITRUST 9.2 blueprint sample overview – Azure Blueprints | Microsoft Docs
- General Data Protection Regulation, GDPR Overview
- Microsoft Compliance Guide including a downloadable version of our HIPAA Business Associates Agreement (BAA)
Finally, the US Department of Health and Human Services has posted their own BAA template that you can find that here Sample Business Associate Contracts from HHS.gov.
While this list will continue to grow, we hope these resources will help provide a quick place for you to get started.
More to come.
