Norton Healthcare has entered into an agreement with Microsoft to use its health solutions platforms Microsoft Amalga Unified Intelligence System (UIS) and Microsoft HealthVault.

Norton Healthcare said the tie up will allow the company to aggregate and mine data in an efficient manner and will assist the Louisville, Ky.-based healthcare system in its Accountable Care Organisation (ACO) initiative.

Microsoft Amalga UIS, a data aggregation platform, will enable Norton Healthcare to gain longitudinal, person-centric, and population

Norton Healthcare claims it will use Amalga UIS to create comprehensive views of patients managing chronic conditions by combining clinical data from inpatient and outpatient sites, payment data from Humana, and patient-provided data from HealthVault, a personal health application platform which will help the company to identify opportunities for more supportive care, support patient self-monitoring and management, better manage care transitions and reduce hospital readmissions.

The ACO also will use HealthVault to support the creation of a patient-centric medical home by giving patients an easy way to store and share personal health information with providers, and to track and share health indicators through the use of personal health devices such as blood pressure cuffs, glucometers, and scales that are connected to their health care provider via computer.

Norton Healthcare System senior vice president and chief medical officer said using Amalga UIS and Microsoft HealthVault, Norton Healthcare will have access to an extensive system wide data and patient relationship strategy designed to improve the health and quality of care for our patients.