By Kristin Herman
With cloud computing becoming more and more desirable in the tech world, it’s now spreading into healthcare. From conventional storage to digitalization of healthcare data, the healthcare industry is already looking to the Cloud to optimize its data management practices.
According to a report done by the West Monroe Partner, 35% of healthcare organizations surveyed held more than 50% of data or infrastructure in the Cloud. Therefore, it’s understandable that the Cloud is desired in healthcare, in comparison to other industries. With data – large amounts of it – being generated daily in the healthcare industry, it makes sense for cloud computing to exist in such an industry.
In fact, here are just 10 of the most common benefits of cloud computing in healthcare:
- Low-Cost Operation With SaaS
Software as a Service (SaaS) has already dominated the global healthcare cloud computing market over the past few years, when it comes to deployment and vendor managed support. Cloud platforms with SaaS in healthcare are ideal for medical organizations that need low control over the cloud platform. Plus, it’s being utilized for applications like EHR, PHM, customer relationship management (CRM), and other IT systems. Thus, SaaS reduces the licensing costs for healthcare organizations.
- Easy Interoperability
The purpose of interoperability is to establish data integrations throughout healthcare. With interoperability, cloud adoption is possible to where patient data is readily available for distribution, thus allowing organizations to gain insights to facilitate healthcare planning and delivery.
Plus, interoperability lets cloud computing reduce the distance between healthcare specialists, thus allowing them to review cases and give their opinions irrespective of geographical limitations. In that case, things like pharmaceuticals, insurance, and payments are easily available and transferable between different stakeholders.
- Low-Cost Data Storage
Since cloud computing strive to provide on-demand availability of computer resources like data storage and computing power, hospitals and healthcare providers are able to utilize these resources without having to pay for hardware and servers, and having to suffer from the tedious up-front charges associated with cloud storage of data. Instead, you only pay for the resources you actually use, which allows you to save a large sum of money.
- Access To Effective Analytics
As you can tell by now, the biggest asset in healthcare is the data, especially patient data. Relevant patient data from different sources can be gathered and put into the Cloud. This opens the doors to useful analytics and artificial intelligence algorithms on the cloud-stored patient data, which can power up medical research. And, with the advanced computing power of the cloud, processing large datasets are more feasible.
The most important thing that cloud computing can do for healthcare providers is to allow them to create more personalized care plans for patients on an individual basis. In addition, it ensures that all the pertinent patient details are on record, and that nothing is left out when prescribing the right treatments to them.
- Better Collaboration
Many healthcare organizations would collaborate with other organizations to complete tasks as important as helping patients get the right medication or treatment for their illnesses and or injuries. So now, with healthcare organizations moving towards value-based care payment methods, collaboration between doctors, departments, and even institutions are needed more than ever before. And with the Cloud, medical providers are able to transfer data between each other through a cloud computing server, thus boosting cooperation for better treatment.
- AI And Machine Learning
Despite artificial intelligence and machine learning still being in the early stages in their development, they still have the potential to transform the healthcare industry with the Cloud. Cloud computing can be beneficial for medical professionals (especially those who tend to have busy schedules), as they implement AI and machine learning capabilities to find solutions to problems that they might not have time for.
- Scalability
Cloud computing allows scalability when looking up data and storing it. And, unlike conventional self-hosted models, cloud computing allows healthcare providers to increase or decrease their data storage, depending on the flow of patients.
As data is scalable with cloud computing, healthcare institutions can adapt this technology to peak seasons (i.e. flu season) when there are more patients, without wasting time and money on hardware purchases or software updates.
- Better Security
If done well, cloud servers can help increase the security of healthcare providers. For example, for on-premises solutions, if any piece of equipment fails, medical institutions may lose all data and applications – or even get compromised by bad actors and hackers. Therefore, security is a top priority, since healthcare institutions can’t afford to have a potential breach of data.
But with cloud computing, not only does it allow its users to access the information remotely with automated backups and disaster recovery options, but also ensures that no sensitive data is lost. Plus, cloud computing can help healthcare providers minimize the downtime for their staff.
- Better Home Healthcare
Nowadays, people are seeing home healthcare as an alternative to going to the doctor in person. And with cloud computing, this alternative has never been easier, since it offers the flexibility for the ever-increasing number of home healthcare users to receive better and more efficient healthcare services without physically going to the hospital. Plus, a growing number of healthcare companies are already launching their own cloud-based healthcare applications (i.e. telemedicine) with monitoring devices for in-home chronic patient care.
- Enabling Blockchain To Protect Data
Now, you may have heard of blockchain from bitcoin. However, blockchain can be enabled in the Cloud to protect sensitive data.
In fact, the worst thing that can happen in the healthcare industry is deploying cloud computing systems, and then facing increasing cybersecurity issues. But the good news is, implementing blockchain in healthcare IT infrastructure can help achieve greater data security, streamline claims, manage billing, and ensure drug supply chain and health research integrity, thus reducing breaches during data exchange, and allowing patients to have greater ownership of their data and records.
Conclusion
Overall, as you think about the 10 ways that cloud computing can work wonders in the healthcare industry, it’s important to know that the Cloud will continue to be implemented for many years to come, as healthcare continues to evolve.
Kristin Herman writes at Big Assignments and Australian Help. She is also a contributing writer for Top Canadian writers. As a project manager, she oversees writing projects nationwide.
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