By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
  • Health
    • Mental Health
    Health
    Healthcare organizations are operating on slimmer profit margins than ever. One report in August showed that they are even lower than the beginning of the…
    Show More
    Top News
    An Expert’s Guide To Building and Improving Endurance
    June 30, 2022
    medical assistants
    What Do Medical Assistants Do On a Day to Day Basis?
    April 5, 2022
    superfoods to help with prostate health
    10 Healthy Foods That Can Help Protect Your Prostate
    August 29, 2022
    Latest News
    Why Custom Telemedicine Apps Outperform Off‑the‑Shelf Solutions
    July 20, 2025
    How Probate Planning Shapes the Future of Your Estate and Family Care
    July 17, 2025
    Beyond Nutrition: Everyday Foods That Support Whole-Body Health
    June 15, 2025
    The Wide-Ranging Benefits of Magnesium Supplements
    June 11, 2025
  • Policy and Law
    • Global Healthcare
    • Medical Ethics
    Policy and Law
    Get the latest updates about Insurance policies and Laws in the Healthcare industry for different geographical locations.
    Show More
    Top News
    pfizer and clinical data transparency
    Pfizer to Expand Clinical Trial Data Access, Takes Step Toward Transparency
    December 6, 2013
    Improving Healthcare Services And Management Through Tech Integration
    June 9, 2020
    obamacare and the uninsured
    Why Hospitals Are Still Gouging the Uninsured
    January 7, 2014
    Latest News
    How IT and Marketing Teams Can Collaborate to Protect Patient Trust
    July 17, 2025
    How Health Choices and Legal Actions Intersect After an Injury
    July 17, 2025
    How communities and healthcare providers can address slip and fall injuries with legal awareness
    July 17, 2025
    Let Your Lawyer Handle the Work Before You Pay Medical Costs
    July 6, 2025
  • Medical Innovations
  • News
  • Wellness
  • Tech
Search
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: Cloud Computing in Healthcare
Share
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
Font ResizerAa
Search
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Health Works Collective > Uncategorized > Cloud Computing in Healthcare
Uncategorized

Cloud Computing in Healthcare

Nrip Nihalani
Nrip Nihalani
Share
7 Min Read
SHARE
This article aims to discuss aspects of cloud computing that are relevant to the healthcare industry and can be applied by doctors to improve their practice.
What Should Doctors Know About Cloud Computing?
There is a sea of information available on the internet about cloud computing and how it works.
This article aims to discuss aspects of cloud computing that are relevant to the healthcare industry and can be applied by doctors to improve their practice.
What Should Doctors Know About Cloud Computing?
There is a sea of information available on the internet about cloud computing and how it works. As a doctor with limited interest in information technology, understanding all that jargon (most of which may not even be directly related to your work and computing requirements) can be quite intimidating and time consuming.
Simply put, the cloud is a set of hardware, networks, storage, services and interfaces that are equipped to provide computing power, infrastructure, applications, software, business processes and storage – in short, all your computing needs, as a service wherever and whenever you need it.
Migrating to the cloud ‘can’ help you reduce cost, space, time and power that would otherwise be utilized for traditional IT services performing the same functions. This is possible because the cloud puts together a large pool of computing resources available to be used as an assured service by anyone who wishes to use it, anywhere in the world. Traditional IT environments on the other hand, have a limited set of resources that are independently managed and delivered to a limited number of people confined to a certain geographic location, thus pushing cost, time, space and power factors.
Using Cloud Computing To Improve Your Practice
Cloud computing can transform the way healthcare is practiced by empowering professionals to deliver better care at lower costs. Cloud computing allows doctors, researchers and scientists across the globe to collaborate and form a centralized, integrated and regularly updated medical database that can be seamlessly accessed by healthcare professionals without having to invest in over-the-top infrastructure or software. Doctors can use the cloud for viewing reports, scans, EMRs, prescriptions and information required to solve complex medical problems anywhere in the world.
Patients’ health data and EMRs can be combined to form a single, comprehensive health record that can be instantly accessed from one single source. The cloud also brings together patient information like insurance claims, prescription and drug details, lab reports, patient history and progress in cases of chronic illnesses and other details and consolidates them to be available at the point of care whenever required.
This not only helps improve the level of accuracy with which care is delivered but also reduces the time and cost of treatment for physicians and patients alike. As all data is sourced from a single, homogenous center, it also brings down the possibility of conflicting treatments, prescriptions and medical data miscommunication in cases where multiple physicians and providers are involved.
Cloud computing is typically subscription based. In many cases, it works on a metered billing model of payment where you pay only for what you use. It also allows for flexible self-service by which you can enable and disable the provision of required services depending on your usage and needs.
Cloud computing users need not invest in heavy capital expenditure on hardware, software, and services. As resources can be unsubscribed whenever required, the risk of investment is considerably reduced. The cloud also addresses increased data storage needs of physicians without having them spend on expensive personal storage devices. Software updates and innovation are centrally managed by cloud service providers, helping doctors focus the best part of their day on patient care.
Cloud computing can thus help physicians meet meaningful use criteria as it demonstrates better quality of care, lower costs and higher insurance/government reimbursements.
Popular Cloud Services
Most of us have “been on the cloud” without even knowing about it (eg: Facebook is an example of a public cloud). Depending on the visibility of data there are three types of cloud platforms: Public, private and hybrid (a combination of public and private).
A more popular classification is based on the services offered:
1. Infrastructure as a service (IaaS) offers hardware related services like disk storage, database or virtual servers. Amazon Web Services (AWS),Rackspace Cloud Servers and Flexiscale are popular IaaS providers.
2. Platform as a Service (PaaS) offers development platforms. Google’s Application Engine, Microsofts Azure, Salesforce.com’s force.com are well-known in this category.
3. Software as service (SaaS) involves software services on the cloud like web based software applications, email services and so on. Popular examples of SaaS services are Salesforce.com (CRM), Google’s Gmail, Google Apps, Dropbox, Zoho, QuickBooks, Piwik, Microsoft Hotmail and their online version of office called BPOS (Business Productivity Online Standard Suite).
A good read on top cloud platforms at http://www.liventerprise.com/news/3608/.
Cloud Security
Cloud security and data ownership is a major concern for users and new adopters of cloud computing. As there is very little regulation currently pertaining to cloud computing, there are many data privacy and security issues to be dealt with. New users must be informed about details on who owns the data, third parties that may gain access to the data and the jurisdiction of the contract. We will look at Cloud Security in detail via a separate article.
References:
1. http://ehealth.johnwsharp.com/2008/09/19/the-intelligent-cloud-implications-for-health-and-medicine/
2. http://thecloudtutorial.com/cloudtypes.html
3. http://lawandmedicine.wordpress.com/2010/07/03/cloud-computing-the-future/
4. http://www.wikinvest.com/concept/Cloud_Computing
5. http://www.goomedic.com/applying-cloud-computing-on-medicine-part-2.html
6. http://searchcloudcomputing.techtarget.com/definition/cloud-computing
7. http://www.infoworld.com/d/cloud-computing/what-cloud-computing-really-means-031
8. https://www.technologyreview.com/business/38473/page2/
9. http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2010/10/18/bisa1018.htm
10. http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/32267.wss
11. http://socialmediatoday.com/garylevin/296483/why-cloud-computing-may-be-dead-healthcare-and-medicine
12. http://healthtrain.blogspot.com/2011/05/why-cloud-computing-may-be-dead-for.html
TAGGED:cloud computing
Share This Article
Facebook Copy Link Print
Share

Stay Connected

1.5kFollowersLike
4.5kFollowersFollow
2.8kFollowersPin
136kSubscribersSubscribe

Latest News

botox certification
Help Improve People’s Skin Health Via Botox Certification
Skin Specialties
July 22, 2025
Telemedicine Apps
Why Custom Telemedicine Apps Outperform Off‑the‑Shelf Solutions
Health
July 20, 2025
Grounded Healing: A Natural Ally for Sustainable Healthcare Systems
How IT and Marketing Teams Can Collaborate to Protect Patient Trust
Global Healthcare Policy & Law
July 17, 2025
paramedics in surgical gloves and masks
How Health Choices and Legal Actions Intersect After an Injury
Health care
July 16, 2025

You Might also Like

Shahid Shah Speaking at NIH Clinical Center on Why Meaningful Use (MU) and EHRs are Insufficient for Evidence Based Medicine (EBM) and Comparative Effectiveness Research (CER)

February 8, 2012
Uncategorized

Vital Things To Consider When Choosing Your Career In Medicine

December 10, 2021

California Medicare Coverage

July 12, 2022
Uncategorized

The Importance of Patient Engagement in a Successful HIE

May 1, 2012
Subscribe
Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!
Follow US
© 2008-2025 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?