16. Jun 2008 00:00 12. Aug 2009 16:38

Microsoft executive visits St. Olav

Dr. Bill Crounse, physician and Microsoft’s Senior Director of Worldwide Health, visited St. Olav Tuesday. The visit had a seminar format, with themes spanning from international trends to hospital development in Trøndelag.

12. Aug 2009 16:27 12. Aug 2009 16:27

	Dr. Bill Crounse from Microsoft writes one of the most influential ICT blogs in the world at http://blogs.msdn.com/healthblog/

Dr. Crounse had a layover in Trondheim on his way from the Telemedicine Conference in Tromsø on Monday to the opening of HP’s Health Centre of Excellence in Oslo on Wednesday. Probably a typical week’s work, since the job largely entails traveling the globe to speak on the use of information technology for improving the quality and security of health systems.

His job with Microsoft is to set the agenda, vision and strategy for Microsoft’s technology and solutions for the health care system, along with cooperation with industrial partners and health institutions so they can utilize Microsoft technology as a platform in their work.

“The solutions from St. Olav and to some extent Nye Ahus are trendsetting in Europe. In addition, there are many other exciting projects and environments in the Norwegian health system of which the management of the world’s largest software company should be aware,” says Jan Rylund, responsible for health care systems at Microsoft Norway.

And Crounse did seem impressed - read more about the visit on his healthblog.  

It is not merely the ICT solutions at St. Olav that can be highlighted. The Regional Health Authority for Central Norway (Helse Midt-Norge) is a significant Microsoft customer, and has the utilization of Microsoft products as a backbone of its ICT strategy. At the same time the Regional Health Authority for Central Norway has managed to standardize IT-systems among all its hospitals and reduce the number of programs used to a much greater degree than other health regions in Norway. The region also has several leading health and ICT environments on the national level.