Cloud Computing in Healthcare and Its Growing Significance

Healthcare organizations often generate and run on a vast amount of data. Storing and sharing patient information manually often pose two critical challenges: increased data storage cost and risk of data breakdown. Technology consistently serves as the savior, providing solutions to overcome these and many other significant challenges in the healthcare industry. One such hard-to-overlook technology is cloud computing.

Cloud computing is reshaping the healthcare industry by setting up a scalable, collaborative, secure, and accessible medium for patients and healthcare organizations. The on-demand computing capability of the cloud adds significant value, especially when healthcare institutes and care providers require quick deployment, access, and management of network information.

According to the Mordor Intelligence report, the global healthcare cloud computing report is estimated at $49.14 billion in 2024 and is predicted to reach $83.93 billion by 2029. The Electronic Health Record (EHR) is expected to dominate the market share throughout the forecast period.

Let’s check out how cloud computing is set to influence the healthcare industry.

What is cloud computing in healthcare?

Cloud computing revolves around leveraging internet-based remote server access to store, manage, and process medical data. This approach offers healthcare stakeholders a flexible solution to access data stored in the remote servers seamlessly. The ability to access healthcare data remotely eliminates location barriers, making medical services more accessible.

Cloud computing helps healthcare companies to securely leverage vast amounts of data from any location and at any time, enhancing patient care and streamlining and automating workflows. On top of this, leveraging the cloud in healthcare aids in reducing operational expenses while ensuring the delivery of top-tier, personalized care.

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What drives health organizations to transition to the cloud?

Healthcare organizations are tapping into new technologies to streamline processes, introduce innovative patient care applications, and enhance overall healthcare services.

Despite implementing these IT solutions, healthcare organizations confront challenges such as steep infrastructure costs, the requirement for computational resources, scalability issues, multi-tenancy concerns, and a growing demand for collaboration. The following attributes of the cloud address these challenges:

• Instant access to computing power coupled with extensive storage resources, a capability often impractical in traditional healthcare systems.

• Manage extensive datasets for Electronic Health Records (EHR), radiology images, and the offloading of genomic data.
• Enable authorized physicians, hospitals, and care institutions across various geographic locations to share Electronic Health Records (EHR), ensuring timely access to life-saving information and reducing the necessity for duplicate testing.
• Assist in analyzing and monitoring data related to diagnosis, treatment, cost, and performance.

What are the different types of cloud-based healthcare systems?

In healthcare, different types of cloud computing models are utilized to cater to diverse needs, and they are broadly categorized from two viewpoints. They are:

1. Deployment Model

• Private: Infrastructure and services are maintained for a specific organization.
• Public: Services are provided by third-party vendors and are accessible to the general public over the internet.
• Hybrid: Combines elements of both public and private clouds with various access options.
• Community: A particular community with shared preferences and objectives can leverage technology.

2. Distribution Model

• Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS): Providers offer virtualized computing resources like storage and networks.
• Platform as a Service (PaaS): Providers offer a platform and tools for developers to build, deploy, and manage applications.
• Software as a Service (SaaS): Providers deliver software applications over the internet.

Conventional Vs. Cloud-based healthcare systems

Traditional and cloud-based healthcare systems differ in terms of collaboration, customizations, data management, and security. Let’s check them out in detail below:

1. Collaboration

Traditional systems often involve physical constraints and may rely on more traditional means of communication, leading to potential delays and limitations in information sharing. Whereas in cloud-based systems, stakeholders can collaborate from diverse locations, accessing real-time data and fostering more efficient communication.

2. Customization

Before cloud-based healthcare systems evolved, electronic health records with customization capabilities required the expertise of highly skilled programmers and IT professionals. Cloud-based solutions offer full customization with integrated features and care plans. This means a diverse array of specific templates and user-friendly interfaces is accessible for tailoring cloud-based solutions.

3. Data management

In traditional healthcare systems, data are stored in physical storage and are often localized. Thus, backup requirements, updating code sets, security patches, and protocols are impossible. Cloud-based healthcare systems utilize virtual storage, enabling centralized and efficient data management.

4. Security

Traditional web-based servers are more susceptible to malware, viruses, and hacking attempts compared to their cloud-based counterparts. Adopting encryption methods in a cloud-based EHR system remains a secure and more reliable option than traditional paper records and client/server systems.

Benefits of cloud computing in healthcare

Cloud computing has truly revolutionized healthcare, bringing about significant digital transformation. With its on-demand accessibility, easy access to vast amounts of data, and internet-based services, the entire healthcare landscape has undergone a remarkable change. It brings many benefits, helping medical professionals meet the needs of patients and their businesses. Some of the significant benefits are;

1. Enhanced access to patient information

The Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR) data standard, along with the 21st Century Cures Act and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, has played significant roles in establishing data standardization as an expectation in the healthcare industry. It also allows healthcare organizations to establish meaningful use of electronic medical records (EMRs).

By leveraging cloud-based EMRs, healthcare providers can seamlessly share and access the necessary data whenever it is required.

2. Reinforced patient experience

Cloud computing in healthcare increases patient engagement in medical services by providing real-time access to medical data, test results, and doctors’ notes. Moreover, cloud-based healthcare prevents patients from being overprescribed or subjected to unnecessary tests, as details of both can be found in their medical records. Patient histories, diagnostics, and other medical records can be shared across the cloud, facilitating swift access by various expert physicians. Collaborating with health insurance companies can lead to streamlined payout processes for healthcare facilities.

3. Seamless Interoperability

Interoperability aims to establish seamless data integration throughout the healthcare system, regardless of the data’s origin or storage location. It ensures patients’ data is easily accessible for distribution and gaining insights to enhance healthcare delivery. Furthermore, cloud computing in healthcare empowers medical professionals to access diverse patient data, share it with key stakeholders, and implement timely protocols.

4. Access to advanced analytical capabilities

Given that a substantial aspect of analytics involves data storage and manipulation, cloud-based tools prove beneficial in scenarios that demand analytical tasks. Healthcare data, whether structured or unstructured, represents a substantial asset. It is feasible to gather pertinent patient data from various sources in the cloud. Leveraging big data analytics and artificial intelligence algorithms on patient data stored in the cloud can significantly enhance medical research. Examining patient data can lead to the development of more personalized care plans for individual patients. It also guarantees that all patient details are documented, leaving no room for oversight when prescribing treatments.

5. Improvising medical research and development

Healthcare providers, doctors, and medical professionals dedicate significant time to research for the enhancement of their practice. The vital information on surgeries and other best practices can easily be stored and segregated on the cloud, making the research material accessible to other medical professionals.

6. Centralized digital health records

Gone were the days when patients carried their medical reports during each visit to their physicians and the medical staff organized and managed them manually. This mundane and tedious process is now streamlined through cloud migration. Cloud services centralize all medical records at a single location for improved accessibility. These records are accessible through web portals at healthcare centers and can be retrieved as needed. A secure cloud platform provides data storage facilities, hosting solutions, and virtual machines to ensure swift access to medical records and patient diagnoses.

7. Reinforced security

When paper medical records were in use, the risk of data theft or damage was considerably high. Records were susceptible to loss, theft, or destruction in events like fires, posing considerable risks to patient safety, privacy, and confidentiality. The transition to EMRs in healthcare facilities mitigated this risk, although it was not completely eradicated.

While on-site electronic data storage proved advantageous, it still demanded a team of highly skilled IT professionals proficient in data security to safeguard patient records. A growing number of healthcare organizations are outsourcing their data storage to cloud storage services. These cloud providers stick to stringent data privacy and security requirements, guaranteeing HIPAA compliance and the secure storage of highly sensitive patient data for the organization.
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What are the dynamic applications of cloud computing in the healthcare industry?

Cloud computing plays a vital role in crafting high-performance applications for healthcare data processing and management. The industry experiences a surge in varied cloud service offerings, showcasing a growing trend in applications and architecture. These cloud solutions aim to drive a technology-driven healthcare system, emphasizing efficiency and advanced capabilities.

1. Health analytics and business intelligence

Cloud-based analytics tools help healthcare organizations analyze large datasets to derive insights, improve decision-making, and enhance patient outcomes. These applications can assist in population health management, predictive analytics, and performance monitoring.

2. Clinical Decision Support Systems (CDSS)

Cloud-based CDSS provides healthcare professionals with real-time, evidence-based information to support clinical decision-making. These systems can analyze patient data and offer recommendations for diagnostics, treatment plans, and interventions.

3. Health Information Exchange (HIE)

Cloud-based Health Information Exchange (HIE) platforms act as digital bridges between different healthcare organizations and help them to share patient information effortlessly. This not only encourages seamless collaboration but also ensures that healthcare providers have easy access to all-encompassing patient records.

4. Telemedicine Platforms

Cloud-based telemedicine applications enable remote consultations, virtual appointments, and real-time communication between patients and healthcare providers. These platforms grant access to medical care from any location, improving patient engagement and healthcare delivery.

5. Biological software

Bioinformatics cloud, one of the phenomenal cloud computing models, offers a solution to the challenges posed by big data. The cloud model designed for biological software delivers a suite of services such as data storage, acquisition, and analysis. It optimizes life science algorithms and data-intensive scientific tools in bioinformatics.

Wrap up

As technology progresses, healthcare organizations are swiftly adopting cloud solutions to handle vast amounts of data, enhance patient care, and streamline their operations. Over and above that, cloud computing integrates artificial intelligence into the day-to-day workings of healthcare, making everything seamlessly interconnected.

Businesses of all sizes are increasingly embracing cloud computing for various critical functions. Its versatility proves invaluable, addressing needs such as disaster recovery, data backup, virtual desktops, email services, software development, testing, and big data analytics.

If you are looking for a software development company to build cloud-based healthcare applications or a seasoned cloud migration partner to support your business at every stage of transformation, Zuci’s cloud experts are here to help.

Book a Pro Bono call with us today!