Cloud Computing Benefits Harvested By Healthcare Institutions

Sep 10
05:46

2013

Jennifer Lewis

Jennifer Lewis

  • Share this article on Facebook
  • Share this article on Twitter
  • Share this article on Linkedin

Healthcare sector and various healthcare institutions across the globe are rapidly adopting the cloud computing technologies. Although there are many concerns regarding regulatory initiatives and security but despite this, it is expected that its market in the healthcare industry will grow to USD 5.5 billion by 2017.

mediaimage
Healthcare sector and various healthcare institutions across the globe are rapidly adopting the cloud computing technologies. Although there are many concerns regarding regulatory initiatives and security but despite this,Cloud Computing Benefits Harvested By Healthcare Institutions Articles it is expected that its market in the healthcare industry will grow to USD 5.5 billion by 2017. This prediction was made in the report published by a research firm named "Markets and Markets".

We all are observing, how healthcare sector is transforming quickly than ever because of the increased demand of delivering higher quality medical services at lesser cost and increased competition between various healthcare service providers. Amidst this situation, every doctor, clinic owner, research organizations and hospitals are looking for solutions to increase their productivity by enhancing the quality of service they provide to their clients. They expect these solutions to be less expensive and capable of transforming their services without involving much capital investment. The answer to all this research is cloud computing, which has been the talk of the town ever since its advent.

Cloud computing, if understood, implemented and used strategically can be the most potent solution to pacify various needs arising in the healthcare industry. Cloud computing gives healthcare institutions an opportunity to improve the quality of the services offered to the patients, share critical and urgent data efficiently, improve operational effectiveness and streamline the expenses. Here are the benefits that cloud computing offers to the healthcare industry.

Security and privacy – If you think that your confidential data is insecure as it is stored with the third party, you are in illusion. Cloud computing providers keep updating and strengthening the security features of their servers. Moreover, they comply with regulations laid in the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). HIPPA recommends all the healthcare institutions to avail services of only those cloud service providers who comply with the laws of HIPPA.

Speed – Cloud based healthcare services promise quick and disturbance free data transfer within the institution. Moreover, the tools of this concept can be upgraded quickly with no downtime and requiring much of the cost. It allows doctors and patients to access records and data quickly and thus, decrease response time.

Mobility – Numerous app development companies realized the importance of cloud computing and developed a number of smart phone apps that can integrate with the concept of cloud computing. Numerous smart devices like smart phones, tablets, notebook PC, laptops can collaborate with cloud infrastructure. Since, the data is stored in the cloud; any authorized employee can access it from his smart device regardless of time and place.

Collaboration – This situation often arises in healthcare institutions where the same patient's information is required at the pharmacy section as well as the operation theatre at the same time.  Cloud computing allows healthcare institutions to synchronize and share the same data at multiple places in a real-time.

Decreased expenses – Since, everything works in a cloud, healthcare institutions don’t need to invest hefty amounts in getting the infrastructure, manpower and other miscellaneous utilities. They only have to pay a fixed amount as a monthly or yearly fee and the rest is taken care of by the cloud provider company.

CONCLUSION

Despite knowing the above-mentioned benefits, a section of experts considers that it is not safe to imply cloud computing in the healthcare sector as even a slightest error could create a havoc. Security of the data is another concern since, data is stored outside the institution, and there are increased chances of leakage. However, all the highlighted shortcomings can be tackled simply by paying more attention towards the system and before that, selecting an appropriate cloud computing service provider.