As part of the Medstory deal announcement, Microsoft launched its Connected Health Framework Architecture and Design Blueprint, which it has tabbed as an "extensible architectural foundation" to streamline interoperability and integration between existing health care applications. The software blueprint will be offered at no charge to government and health care organizations worldwide, the company said.

The software maker further identified the plan as a "real-world model" for health care companies attempting to adopt SOA technologies to help pull together disparate health care systems.

In addition to the architecture, Microsoft introduced its Health Connection Engine, a set of Web services tools built around industry standards, that also promises to allow medical organizations to foster interoperability in their IT operations.

As proof of its existing capabilities in the health care filed, Microsoft detailed work it has done with the Menninger Clinic, a Houston, Texas psychiatric hospital, to help the facility centralize its clinical information systems. Hospital officials claim to have cut paperwork by 25 percent already using a new internal system based on Microsoft's Office SharePoint Server 2007 and Office InfoPath 2007.