Cloud computing refers to the functioning of computing services over the internet, services including analytics, software, networking, databases, storage and servers. The companies that offer such services are referred to as cloud providers, usually charging for them depending on usage. They can be used to recover, back up and store data, as well as analysing data, identifying patterns and making predictions. Important data that would otherwise be stored on computer can instead be stored on the internet or ‘cloud,’ making it more secure. It can also be accessed at any time by any device. Many industries are now using cloud services to store their data, and the healthcare industry is set to follow suit.
Benefits of Cloud Computing for Health Care
Cloud computing can create plenty of benefits for health care. Here are 5 of them.
Electronic Patient Records
The first benefit of cloud computing for health care is that it allows users to keep electronic records of their patients. This makes archiving patient records and medical images much easier. It makes data easier to access and secure and increases storage capability.
Scalability
Healthcare organisations operate in an ever-changing environment, having to respond to clinical quality initiatives, competition, financing reforms, regulatory enhancements and so on. Additionally, organisations continually introduce or remove locations, programs and staff. Using conventional means, they get stuck in keeping up with their hardware purchases as well as maintenance.
Cloud computing allows companies the flexibility they need to respond to their ever-changing demands. They can easily scale up their organisations capacity when the need arises with just the press of a button; likewise, they can just as easily scale down. It saves companies time and, therefore, improves their budget and patient safety.
Streamlined Data Sharing
Cloud computing allows companies to streamline their data sharing, enabling them to create bigger, more comprehensive data pools, and share these pools with easily with the relevant people in the industry. The data is easily available from all locations with internet, enabling doctors to access patient information whenever they need to. Cloud computing improves communication, allowing healthcare providers to collaborate and stay in touch with patients.
Increased Data Storage
Cloud computing increases the storage capacity that healthcare providers possess. Since everything is stored on the cloud, companies don’t need to invest in additional hardware to cater to their storage needs.
Advanced Clinical Research
The cloud allows companies to conduct research on an unprecedented scale. In the past, data was too comprehensive to handle for the smaller computers. But the cloud possesses advanced computing powers, allowing, for the first time, giant sets of data to be processed. It can help in the development of new drugs at cheap prices and holds special potential and implications for DNA sequencing.
Take away
If you have more questions about cloud computing and whether it’s right for your hospital or medical centre, then please give us a call. Our expert IT Support specialists will be able to help you in setting up your own IT infrastructure.