One of the most important questions for the healthcare sector is what to do with the massive amounts of data it generates. With an estimated 137 terabytes of information created by healthcare every day, how do we store, process, and share this information effectively?
The solution lies in cloud computing. Embracing cloud computing in healthcare gives providers greater flexibility in how they access data and enables new tools they never had access to before.
What is Cloud Computing in Healthcare?
With the advent of medical computers and data-based healthcare, hospitals could transition away from paper records to electronic medical records (EMRs). EMRs have multiple advantages over their physical counterparts; they take up less space, are easier to share with other providers or groups, and are easier to update. However, EMRs still need space for IT servers, come with power requirements, and are still vulnerable to damage if the hospital experiences a fire, flood, or other kind of disaster.
The widespread adoption of the Internet has created a third option: cloud-based data storage. Rather than keep their data in servers on-site at a clinic or hospital, healthcare groups can instead purchase server space from cloud-based services and access their files via the Internet. This opens up new avenues for using healthcare data never possible before.
Applications for Cloud Computing in Healthcare
Cloud computing’s flexibility means it can be used in numerous roles throughout the healthcare sector. By centralizing data in a single location and making it readily available to authorized parties, healthcare groups have new avenues for treating their patients, including:
EMR Access
The first and most common use for cloud computing services in healthcare is accessing EMRs from any device with the proper authorization. This spares providers from having to carry around and update paper records for every patient they see during a shift. It also means that if a patient changes facilities, they don’t need to bring a copy of their records with them; the providers at the new facility can simply access the EMR from the cloud and continue without a hitch.
Wearable Devices
Wearable devices are becoming increasingly widespread for everything from personal fitness goals to enabling remote patient monitoring. A wearable device can upload data directly to the cloud, giving real-time updates to the patient’s condition.
Telemedicine
Historically, getting any kind of medical treatment required going to a hospital or a doctor’s practice. With telemedicine technologies supported by cloud computing, however, patients and providers can meet over the Internet for appointments and consultations. This technology is perfect for patient monitoring, treating patients in remote or rural areas, and even performing surgeries from hundreds of miles away. These treatment options would not be possible without cloud-based access to patient information and treatment portals for connecting patients to their providers.
Population Health Management
With cloud-based services, healthcare groups can easily review their entire patient population across multiple facilities, allowing them to detect widespread health issues within that population. For example, this can be used to identify environmental conditions causing harm, such as toxic runoff from nearby factories. It is also an essential part of early pandemic detection, alerting providers that they have a potential crisis on hand before it spreads further.
Clinical Development and Research
Because cloud computing collects massive amounts of data in a single digital location, it becomes easier to conduct research and development for new treatments and pharmaceutical drugs. Healthcare groups can more easily find candidates for clinical trials, conduct genomic research, and share data between collaborators more easily than if they relied on paper records or on-site data servers.
Benefits of Cloud Computing in Healthcare
By embracing the flexibility and ease of access that cloud computing offers, healthcare groups can enjoy new applications for their data, stronger protections for said data, and easier collaboration between different providers and teams.
Regulatory Compliance
Since January 2014, healthcare groups in the US have been required to use electronic records to store information about their patients, as per the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The goal of the law is to improve the overall quality and safety of medical services by making information more readily available and easier to access. Implementing cloud-based structures lets healthcare groups meet this requirement without having to invest heavily in their IT infrastructure.
Cheaper and Safer Data Storage
Establishing data storage on-site at a clinic or hospital requires investment that most healthcare groups simply can’t spare. As previously mentioned, hospitals generate far too much information to efficiently store on-site, given the room, power, and personnel requirements associated with data servers.
Another major concern is data safety; if the hospital experiences a fire, flood, or other natural disaster, any information stored on-site is vulnerable. Cloud-based storage, on the other hand, is located off-site and comes with multiple backups in case of an accident.
Lastly, cloud-based storage is often safer in terms of cybersecurity as well. In-house IT staff assume the duty of protecting a hospital’s data, but they also have to worry about device maintenance, technical support, and various other tasks. By contrast, cloud providers are completely focused on protecting their clients’ data from intrusion and staying up-to-date on the latest regulations and updates.
Easier Collaboration
In the past, patients would need separate copies of their medical records at every healthcare provider or hospital they visited. This made collaboration between different entities incredibly difficult, as information would have to be faxed or verbally shared over the phone. In this system, it was far too easy for updates to go unrecorded, leaving providers with out-of-date information that could easily lead to medical injuries.
Cloud-based solutions do not have this problem. No matter where they are located, if they have the proper authorization, providers can access and work from the same records, ensuring clear lines of communication for everyone involved. This lets providers consult specialists and get second opinions in a matter of minutes rather than hours, leading to better results for patients.
Big Data Applications
By collecting data in a single location, large amounts of it can be processed all at once. Advanced computer and AI algorithms can analyze thousands of EMRs in an instant, compared to the weeks or months it would take for humans.
This data can be used in multiple ways to improve a healthcare group’s operations. For example, it can be used to search for patterns of readmissions, which are extremely costly for hospitals. With cloud-based services, groups can review all their readmission cases, identify why they’re occurring, and take steps to correct the issue.
Supports Interoperability
Interoperability is the design paradigm that devices should be able to work together to better manage a patient’s condition. Cloud computing provides the means for this cooperation. For example, a patient’s wearable health device can feed information directly to their EMR, reporting on factors like a patient’s heart rate or blood-oxygen levels throughout the day. Providers can then access this information to draw conclusions about their patients’ progress.
Easier Scaling
Because cloud storage is not tied to physical infrastructure, it is much easier for healthcare groups to scale up or down as needed. Most cloud service providers offer a range of options and subscriptions, letting healthcare groups get as much data storage as they need. If their operations expand and they need more capacity, they can simply have their cloud-based provider increase their server space without having to purchase more servers and build the facilities to contain them themselves.
Considerations for Using Cloud Computing in Healthcare
Like with any new technology or process, using cloud computing in healthcare comes with certain considerations and hurdles that must be overcome. When choosing whether to go cloud-based, these are the most important factors to think about:
Security and Training
The threat of cyber-attacks and data theft remains high for healthcare groups, and will only continue to grow as the sector becomes more data-reliant. When using cloud-based services, it is critical to pair it with medical tablets and computers with strong security features. Features like access control methods and Imprivata encryption should be considered absolute necessities.
However, all the features in the world won’t protect you if your employees don’t know how to use them. It’s also critical that you properly educate providers on how to use these tools and how to identify potential threats like phishing attempts targeting them.
Hardware Support
Cloud-based solutions are software and need effective hardware to support them. When considering a cloud-based EMR, make sure you have medical computers with the processing power and connectivity options that can guarantee constant access to it. If possible, consult with an original equipment manufacturer who can tailor their products to fit your exact needs. They can deliver medical computers that offer performance and features that you need without breaking your budget.
Software Compatibility
Finally, before committing to a cloud-based EMR solution, make sure that the new program integrates into your current IT infrastructure. For example, can it download images from your X-ray imaging software, or does it require a lengthy workaround? These sorts of issues can be the difference between a seamless adoption and hours of hair-pulling frustration for healthcare providers.
Embracing Cloud Computing with Cybernet Manufacturing
Cloud computing in healthcare promises to offer insights and versatility that the sector has never experienced before. However, taking advantage of this power requires effective hardware to access and support its vast oceans of data.
If your healthcare group or hospital is looking for medical computers to support its cloud infrastructure, contact the team at Cybernet Manufacturing. We’d be happy to explain how our products come with the security features and connectivity options that enable cloud-based solutions, and how you can use them to enhance your own efforts.