In today’s rapidly evolving digital landscape, healthcare leaders no longer see technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud computing as optional—they are essential. At the recent 11th Annual Performance Summit, Abhilesh Gandhi, Chief Technology Officer at The Craneware Group, and Gareth Hall, Global Lead for Microsoft for Health, discussed how future-focused technologies are transforming healthcare revenue and margin intelligence.
The session highlighted the increasing pressures on healthcare providers—not only to deliver high-quality care but to manage financial, operational, and regulatory hurdles. As Mark Montgomery, Chief Marketing Officer at The Craneware Group and session host, aptly noted, “Traditional methods of managing key aspects of the value cycle—like revenue management and cost control—can’t keep up with the pace of change.” The solution? Leveraging AI and cloud platforms to help healthcare organizations thrive in this evolving environment.
The Craneware Group and Microsoft: A Strategic Alliance
In July of this year, The Craneware Group and Microsoft announced a strategic alliance to empower healthcare providers' ability to use innovative technologies for financial and operational success. Hall spoke to the strength of this partnership, particularly through Microsoft Azure's cloud platform capabilities. By integrating The Craneware Group’s Trisus® platform and its suite of healthcare-specific financial and operational solutions, the collaboration aims to enhance productivity, optimize financial performance, and accelerate digital transformation in US healthcare organizations.
A key component of the partnership is the Microsoft Azure Consumption Commitment (MACC), which provides organizations easier access to Microsoft’s resources, reducing the strain on internal IT infrastructures and enabling efficient use of resources. Through this partnership, The Craneware Group has introduced three innovative, MACC-eligible solutions to the Microsoft Azure Marketplace: Trisus Chargemaster, Trisus Decision Support, and Trisus Labor Productivity. These solutions are designed to enhance productivity and enable data analytics for better financial decision-making in healthcare.
Leveraging AI and Cloud Computing for Healthcare Financial Performance
As AI and cloud computing take center stage in healthcare, their applications extend far beyond automating routine tasks. Gandhi emphasized that these technologies allow healthcare leaders to scale their operations efficiently, analyze large datasets in real-time, and extract actionable insights to improve business performance. By integrating data analytics into its Trisus platform as a gateway to more advanced AI concepts, The Craneware Group enables healthcare organizations to capture revenue, control costs, and protect margins—key factors for financial sustainability.
An example of this elevated function is in The Craneware Group's Trisus Medication Financial Management solution, which provides an additional layer of data by analyzing drug costs alongside clinical decisions. While this solution, one of several in the Trisus Medication Analytics portfolio, does not dictate clinical protocols, it adds financial context to clinical decisions, enabling a more comprehensive approach to patient care. Additionally, The Craneware Group’s Trisus Decision Support solution merges financial, clinical, and operational data, giving healthcare providers a holistic view of their service lines—an essential step as the industry shifts to value-based care.
Unlocking Potential with Exploratory Data Analytics
Exploratory data analytics (EDA) are critical tools in helping healthcare organizations not only manage but also optimize their financial and operational data. A more advanced AI-driven concept is predictive analytics, which can forecast future trends based on historical data and enabling healthcare organizations to make more informed, proactive decisions about cost management and revenue optimization. Gandhi highlighted the role of predictive analytics in helping healthcare providers better utilize limited resources—whether it’s nurses, doctors, or administrative staff—while avoiding burnout and improving outcomes. The Craneware Group remains committed to helping healthcare leaders leverage their data for faster, more informed decisions about their value cycle.
The Journey Toward Healthcare Digital Transformation
The adoption of cloud-based solutions and AI-driven technologies is a transformative journey that healthcare leaders and providers are just beginning. Hall noted that, while healthcare lags behind other industries in adopting cloud and AI, the value these technologies can bring to the sector are immense. “We’re at the start of a really big journey,” Hall remarked, adding that healthcare's complexity, regulatory requirements, and sensitive data mean the transition to the cloud and AI must be handled with extra care.
A primary challenge faced by healthcare leaders is migrating from on-premises data centers to the cloud. The Craneware Group’s transition of its solutions to the Trisus platform on Azure offers reliable expertise in this shift, providing a mature cloud ecosystem that enhances scalability and data processing capabilities. As Gandhi pointed out, real-time data access in the cloud is critical for fast, effective decision-making healthcare.
Responsible AI: The Ethical Imperative
The use of AI in healthcare brings with it a heightened responsibility to ensure that technologies are used ethically and transparently. The Craneware Group and Microsoft are committed to building “responsible AI,” ensuring that AI is used for the right purposes, in the right way. Gandhi stressed that AI should be viewed as a “co-pilot, not an auto-pilot”, supporting healthcare professionals in workflow improvement without compromising human oversight to ensure accuracy, context, and relevance.
Although healthcare is early in its AI adoption journey, the benefits are already evident. Whether it's improving administrative efficiency, enhancing financial performance, or providing deeper insights into clinical data, AI has the power to revolutionize healthcare. Both Gandhi and Hall stressed that success will depend on partnerships between healthcare providers, technology companies, and platforms, like Azure, to maximize AI’s positive impact.
Conclusion
As healthcare organizations face mounting pressures to improve operational efficiency and financial performance, partnerships like the one between The Craneware Group and Microsoft will drive innovation in healthcare and beyond. The future of the business of healthcare depends on the successful integration of AI and cloud computing. Now is the time for healthcare leaders to embrace these tools and prepare for the opportunities and challenges ahead.
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