The Cloud: An Option or a Necessity?

In the past, healthcare organizations had to acquire and maintain a whole host of expensive, complicated hardware, software, and of course, the relevant personnel to manage everything – regardless of whether or not these resources were used around-the-clock at full capacity. Nowadays, the cloud has changed the game – offering the ability to process and deliver data, as well as analyze data into meaningful information. Healthcare organizations only need to pay for what they use, such as applications, infrastructure, and storage. This is why cloud computing has transformed from an option to a business necessity.

After all, healthcare organizations are able to spend less money while freeing up their own technical staff to focus on core competencies. It’s a win-win for everyone involved. Cloud computing in the healthcare industry is a multi-billion dollar market for good reason:

  • Quicker access to electronic medical records
  • Massive storage to meet growing demand
  • Decreased capital expenditure in patient billing
  • Greater security and compliance capabilities

Let’s look at the patient and/or resident side of the equation…

Naturally, healthcare organizations have one primary goal: taking care of their patients and/or residents. While you’re working to satisfy demands for fast, high-quality access to healthcare, you’re juggling the need to manage your technology in a manner that complies with strict government regulations, such as HIPAA. But here’s the thing: people are getting more and more used to 24/7 access from a range of online retailers and brick-and-mortar stores.

Technology, and more specifically, the cloud is making this possible. And they’re beginning to have the same expectations from their healthcare providers. Fortunately, the cloud enables healthcare providers to serve patients in a quicker, more efficient manner. In fact, having data in the right place and being able to analyze that data into meaningful information drastically improves the patient journey.

The many benefits of cloud-powered digitization in healthcare…

The cloud is incredibly beneficial for healthcare providers, as long as they’re working with an experienced IT company that knows how to manage and secure their cloud solutions. You’re able to:

  • Save money in terms of purchasing and maintaining unnecessary hardware, personnel, and other costs.
  • Achieve secure access to applications and electronic medical records anytime, from any location.
  • Reduce total deployment time when rolling out new applications or adding/removing users from current applications.
  • Safeguard confidential information with a layered security approach, including built-in encryption, access control, and other measures.
  • Ensure business continuity as you’ll be able to keep operating, even if a natural disaster or human error occurs.

As an added bonus, you’re able to take advantage of flexible pricing wherein you pay for what you use and that’s it. There will likely be bundled packages available wherein you can pay one flat-rate monthly fee for all of your information technology services and support. Plus, in a cloud environment, APIs are often available for automatic scaling, management, and provision – giving you access to the latest software.

Does the cloud help with every point of the patient’s care?

If you’re still on the fence about cloud computing, keep in mind, the cloud helps with every point of the patient’s care. Web-based technologies allow us to engage with the patient throughout the entire visit. From EHR strategies to complementary mobile applications to internet-based access points, the cloud can integrate information from the entire clinical ecosystem – helping you support your patient each step of the way.

In addition, the cloud enables healthcare organizations to better share information with other providers treating the patient. More often than not, information sharing can be fragmented and difficult. The cloud allows each provider in the process to comprehensively understand the patient’s treatment plan with ease – integrating information from the healthcare provider to the insurance company to the pharmacy and everything in between.

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