HOW DOES CLOUD COMPUTING IMPACT HEALTHCARE INDUSTRY?

Cloud computing in healthcare provides patients and doctors with a connected, accessible, and collaborative environment. In the long run, shifting to a cloud environment ensures lower costs and higher patient and medical staff satisfaction.

In terms of data management, the healthcare industry is one of the most complex. According to MarketsAndMarkets, the medical cloud computing market will be worth $65 billion by 2025. According to Gartner, global spending on cloud services will exceed $482 billion this year (2022), up from $313 billion in 2020.

Healthcare industry challenges.

Huge amounts of data are used daily in the healthcare industry. The main issues that healthcare software development companies deal with are data security, accessibility, and cost reduction.

High price

Medical institutions collect, store and process large volume of data from various devices. Keeping them on hardware demands constant maintenance and doesn’t come cheap. Applications for cloud computing in healthcare reduce the workload and provide scalability when more space is required.

Pay-as-you-go options are available from providers such as Azure and AWS for over 160 cloud services. This model provides organizations with a great deal of flexibility because they only pay for the services they require and for as long as they use them.

According to a recent Thomson Reuters report, the United States’ healthcare system currently wastes $600-850 billion per year due to administrative inefficiency and unnecessary treatments — issues that cloud computing can help to solve.

Accessibility

Healthcare organizations are complex, and it is common for more than one physician or team to work with a single patient. It is difficult and time-consuming to convey up-to-date patient data without additional communication. Data can be updated in real time thanks to cloud services, and each specialist can access and update it if they have permission. Everything is dramatically simplified for medical specialists and, as a result, patients. They can view changes to their prescriptions and appointments without having to visit the hospital.

Security

Because the healthcare industry constantly deals with data such as diagnostics, lab tests, medical history, billing records, and so on, its loss can cause irreparable harm to the organization. Because servers are primarily located in different geographical locations, the provider ensures backups in the case of cloud services. One of the main benefits of cloud computing in healthcare is security, which is emphasized by cloud service providers. It saves data even in the event of a natural disaster or other similar event.

Furthermore, IoT-enabled medical devices may be vulnerable to hacker attacks. The cloud is more secure than on-premises systems. Cloud servers are outfitted with various security measures such as IDS/IPS, firewalls, end-to-end encryption, and so on. Implementing these measures will protect healthcare data.

How Can Cloud Computing Improve the Healthcare Industry?

Make it simpler to work with data.

Healthcare organizations work with data such as patients’ contact and personal information, medical and appointment history, insurance company information, and payment records. It is difficult to manually structure and process it. In turn, errors in a specific area are costly both literally and metaphorically. Analytics tools in the cloud make work more accessible, productive, and insightful.

AI and machine learning capabilities play a significant role in patient treatment as well as operational efficiencies. Cloud computing in the healthcare industry can help users manage massive amounts of data as more cloud platforms integrate AI and ML into their services.

Improve access to healthcare services

Telemedicine is a modern health-tech trend that allows patients to receive medical care remotely. During the Covid pandemic, it has become an

essential tool. Even without it, remote consultations allow people with disabilities and those living in remote areas to avoid having to travel to traditional clinics.

One of the most significant advantages of cloud computing in healthcare is the ability to handle regular communication with a health professional, particularly after surgery or operation. The same could be said for a timely reminder to take medication, among other things. Physicians can even monitor patient vitals from home using cloud-connected wearable devices. This feature allows doctors to make quick decisions, which saves patients’ lives.

Improve communication between clinics and patients.

Healthcare cloud computing enables doctors and medical staff to provide the highest quality services and communication to patients. They can access test and analysis results online, track treatment dynamics, and receive notifications when there is an update.

Improve medical staff collaboration

Storing data in cloud services enables specialists from various companies to access it at any time, without the need for additional communication or patient involvement. As a result, the accuracy of the diagnosis improves and the risk of misinterpretation decreases.

Companies Using Cloud Computing in Healthcare

Many leading healthcare organizations have already started to use cloud computing in healthcare management processes to provide better care, lower operational costs, and improve overall administration. Here are some of the most noteworthy examples of cloud services for healthcare companies.

NetApp is a hybrid cloud data services company. It provides real-time data to make clinical processes faster and more efficient by allowing for faster backup and restoration and easier data growth adaptation.

Medsphere is a healthcare IT services company that provides service to multiple clinical, financial, accounting, nursing, and other companies.

ClearData is a cloud computing company whose primary goal is to move medical data and apps to the cloud so that users can access them via a private and secure internet connection.

Nintex streamlines manual processes, particularly documentation. It improves the overall patient experience and offers automation services to healthcare professionals.

Carecloud — practice management and EHR software that helps healthcare providers improve their efficiency and connect with patients directly.

Summing up.

Cloud computing has a significant impact on the healthcare industry. The importance of cloud computing in healthcare is enormous; it has a massive positive impact on companies and clinics, from lowering the cost of care to improving communication with patients and treatment quality. According to recent reports, medical organizations are considering adopting cloud solutions. Security concerns or a lack of internal technical resources are the main roadblocks.

If you’re considering cloud adoption for your healthcare organization and looking for a dependable tech partner, look no further. Contact us for a professional consultation and gain the benefits of cloud computing for your company’s growth.