Change Healthcare will work with Adobe and Microsoft on a new platform that will aggregate patient data for a more seamless and user-friendly patient experience.

The three companies will leverage Change's Intelligent Healthcare Network, Adobe Experience Cloud and Microsoft Azure to create a platform that can securely "aggregate and activate" various types of consumer information from several sources: electronic health records, registration systems, scheduling software, billing applications and others.

The goal is to help hospitals and practices gain a competitive advantage by offering a better online experience to their patients, officials said.

Providers can deploy the technology as part of their revenue cycle and patient relationship management projects, enabling them coordinate and personalize patient engagement campaigns, manage educational content and gain insights from consumer behavior.

Speaking at the HIMSS Patient Engagement and Experience Summit earlier this year, Adrienne Boissy, chief experience officer at Cleveland Clinic, said good patient experience demands more than just on-time doctors' appointments and accessible patient portals.

It's about "putting information in the hands of patients that matters most to them," she said.

And increasingly, traditionally consumer-facing companies are compelling healthcare providers to up their game with regard to patient experience offerings "The Amazons and Apples of the world have mastered service, and they are coming for us," said Boissy.

"This unique collaboration is all about helping our customers put the consumer first," said Change Healthcare CEO Neil de Crescenzo in a statement.

"Bolting transactional features onto portals can't provide the frictionless, end-to-end experience consumers want," he explained. "That ideal can be met only when providers can infuse and orchestrate intelligence into touch-points across healthcare's administrative, clinical and financial continuum."

Change Healthcare has been busy so far this year. Earlier this month, it expanded its revenue cycle analytics platform. In January, it launched what is says is the first enterprise-scale blockchain network for healthcare.

This new partnership brings together Adobe's consumer-facing expertise, Microsoft's secure and scalable cloud technology and Change's experience helping manage healthcare data and AI-enhanced workflows.

The aim is to "help providers keep patients connected with care and wellness solutions throughout their healthcare journey," said de Crescenzo.

"Patients today expect the same seamless, personalized experiences with healthcare providers they already know from other consumer brands," added Matt Thompson, Adobe's executive vice president of worldwide field operations.

Twitter: @MikeMiliardHITN
Email the writer: mike.miliard@himssmedia.com