Best Cloud Computing Practices in Healthcare

It’s 2017 and cloud computing has become both common and necessary in healthcare. Healthcare organizations are moving from paper records in favor of easy-to-access cloud applications, citing data protection and patient privacy as primary motivations. It should be said, however, that with these added cloud benefits come a handful of challenges and hurdles. Below,we’ve rounded up some of the greatest perks you can expect from cloud migration in healthcare.

Data Security

By moving data offsite, you can reduce the risk of stolen information. With cloud storage, healthcare professionals can access patient information from multiple locations and from multiple devices allowing for increased mobility. Moving to the cloud, also means that healthcare organizations will need to choose between public and private clouds.

With all the security benefits that come from a cloud migration, organizations should still be sure that the same basic security measures are in effect with their cloud provider. By including business associates agreements (BAA), providers and customers both know who is liable for any security related incident. Furthermore, according to a number of recent studies, most businesses aren’t fully using their cloud security options. A February 2017 article from HyTrust found that 25 percent of healthcare entities using the public cloud aren’t encrypting their data.

Improved Data Storage

With thousands of patients coming and going throughout the year, the sheer amount of patient data and records can seem overwhelming. Add on the fact that patient data must be held onto for six years, and that’s more than most organizations can handle. by moving to the cloud, healthcare organizations can easily scale their cloud storage solution to meet their EMR/EHR load, while saving money.

Streamlined Communication

Many healthcare professionals have found that cloud computing simplifies collaboration and allows for greater teamwork while taking care of patients. The cloud approach speeds up a number of operations and allows for collaboration from different locations and devices.

Tele-medecine

It might sound like sci-fi, but telemedecine is actually a critical development in healthcare that allows patients to be diagnosed and treated remotely through telecommunications. With healthcare organizations adopting cloud computing, patients can receive high quality care without ever needing to take the trip to the hospital.

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