Cloud computing has been adopted as the preferred optimized IT Infrastructure in the healthcare sector. According to Veritis, 83 percent of the healthcare sector is currently using the Cloud for their core operations. Beyond the underlying infrastructure, it becomes the cornerstone to enable EMR, Tele-Health, IOMT, AI and Big Data. Cloud use turns the healthcare services from siloed-driven applications into patient-centric services. It breaks the geographical constraints, unlocks the data analytic potentials for best treatment decision making and embraces intelligence throughout the healthcare systems.
The ultimate goal is to realize a Smart Healthcare Industry that provides better healthcare quality and universal healthcare coverage to everyone. Sangfor cloud team has written an article specifically to describe the role that cloud computing plays in the healthcare industry.
Let’s dive in below.
What Is Healthcare Cloud Computing?
According to Galen Data, “cloud computing in healthcare describes the practice of implementing remote servers accessed via the internet to manage healthcare-related data. This is in contrast to establishing an on-site data center with servers or hosting the data on a personal computer.”
We understand the fundamental role that technology plays in healthcare and its development. While that addresses aspects such as medicine and technologies directly related to assessment and treatment, all these operations provide data. This presents yet another facet of healthcare that needs managing.
Cloud computing provides a modern solution for collecting, analyzing, presenting, storing, and protecting data — an important resource in industries where data is utilized in almost every process.
Additionally, with the technological advancements in healthcare such as remote monitoring, natural language processing APIs, and telehealth cloud technology will endure advancing to fit novel digital health settings in multiple important means for years to come. As stated in a report compiled by Precedence Research.
The report further concludes that the global healthcare cloud computing market size was valued at USD 30.5 billion in 2021 and is predicted to surpass around USD 127.04 billion by 2030 with a registered CAGR of around 17.2% during the forecast period 2022 to 2030.
The increased acceptance of the use of cloud computing in healthcare continues to influence and grow its use as its value of it is recognized.
Why Is Cloud Computing Necessary in the Healthcare Industry?
The high volume of data in the healthcare industry presents the challenge of data management. This means that a great part of the role that cloud computing plays in healthcare can be attributed to data management.
Self-managed data systems surface issues such as hardware acquirement, maintenance, security, storage, limited scalability without additional costs, centralization of data which limits accessibility and collaboration, and harder-to-update systems that miss the ever-rising advancements in cloud computing and I.T.
Built In writer Mike Thomas writes “Cloud computing in healthcare increases the efficiency of the industry while decreasing costs. Cloud computing makes medical record-sharing easier and safer, automates backend operations, and even facilitates the creation, and maintenance of, telehealth apps.”
What Are the benefits of Cloud Computing in Healthcare?
- Collaboration & Accessibility: The use of a cloud allows for collaboration across departments, with different members of staff such as nurses and doctors, and even stakeholders. A cloud makes information readily available for use, receipt, and sharing as well as accessible from anywhere. This also makes systems such as remote conferencing doable. Furthermore, it allows for collaboration across different healthcare facilities for access to data such as past doctors for contact and any existing patient history.
- Data Security: Data security is a top priority not only for healthcare professionals but also for patients. By implementing a cloud strategy, organizations eliminate the high risk that comes with non-cloud data storage measures. Cloud computing systems can protect against potential threats by assessing and removing any present vulnerabilities. Cloud strategies can further ensure the protection of data through HIPAA compliance standards. Sangfor’s Endpoint Security works not only to recover and combat malware but also to detect any vulnerabilities open to potential threats.
- Scalability: A cloud strategy for data management takes into consideration the constant changes in data such as upscaling, downscaling, data removal, and entrée; and adapts to the needs of the organization. This caters to the constant inflow of data in healthcare.
- Cost: The cost of maintenance that comes with storing, processing, and securing data privately can prove expensive and limiting, especially where organizations need to scale. Pay-as-you-go services offered by cloud platforms allow for the use of storage and scalability only as needed. In the long run, organizations see a significant drop in costs and a greater return on investment in cloud services.
- Interoperability: Care Cloud defines interoperability in healthcare as “the ability for various healthcare information technology (HIT) to exchange, interpret and use data cohesively.” The vast array of technologies and platforms used in healthcare means that systems often function separately. Cloud interoperability allows for efficient access to multiple different platforms all from a single environment. This includes health information not only between staff but also between patients.
- Storage: The use of the cloud for storage is amongst its most popular and highly demanded functions. The infrastructure demands and security issues that on-premises storage tend to cause make the externally managed and maintained and focus placed on security the viable solution for organizations.
Conclusion
Transforming to Cloud is not merely about bringing in a Cloud Management Platform (CMP). The key is to introduce Automation and Orchestration. Its speed enables fast Time-To-Market and adaptiveness to market changes. Its intelligence empowers process efficiency to another level. Its service-driven capability opens limitless innovation possibilities. The Cloud XaaS Service-driven model is a simplified layman concept that easily connects cloud transformation to business strategy increasing competitive edge, creating new revenue streams, and being more resilient in the face of disruptive market changes. This strategic alignment transforms IT from a Support Center into a Profit Center. The key is simplification. It defeats the purpose if the Cloud is too complex to start, too costly to justify, and too bulky to protect. Now is the best time ever to justify and expedite Cloud Transformation and leap into Healthcare Digitalization towards Smart Healthcare realization.
FAQs
How do non-cloud healthcare participants make the move to the cloud?
For those who have not already made the transition and are still using non-cloud management systems, a hybrid cloud strategy allows for organizations to reap the benefits of cloud strategies while maintaining the aspects of non-cloud systems they prefer to manage privately. The following article by Sangfor Cloud CTO Nicholas Tay provides a detailed explanation of the reasons why Hybrid Cloud makes sense to the healthcare industry.
Are there any disadvantages to using the cloud?
As with anything, there are challenges that organizations may face throughout their cloud journeys such as unexpected downtimes, meeting compliance requirements, potential disasters, etc. However, with the correct strategy, and a hands-on vendor, all potential challenges are planned for beforehand eliminating worry.
Why Sangfor?
Sangfor’s HCI (Hyper-Converged Infrastructure)-based Cloud offers on-site Private Cloud, Hybrid Cloud and off-site Sangfor Managed Cloud Services (MCS) solution with centralized Sangfor Cloud Platform (SCP). It has built-in backup and DR solution and embraces all-round security throughout the cloud platform. You can now start your Cloud Transformation journey in a simple, cost-effective, and secure way today.
