{"id":633,"date":"2013-06-20T11:41:10","date_gmt":"2013-06-20T15:41:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gutcheckamerica.com\/?p=633"},"modified":"2013-06-20T11:41:10","modified_gmt":"2013-06-20T15:41:10","slug":"healthcare-and-the-cloud","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gutcheckamerica.com\/?p=633","title":{"rendered":"Healthcare and the Cloud"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

If ever there was an industry in need of higher quality for less money, it\u2019s the healthcare sector. In addition to the demand to improve operational efficiency, healthcare service providers are increasingly facing competition, which is putting the pressure on to do more for less. This is where cloud computing proves to be beneficial. According to several financial forecasts,\u00a0 estimates are that the cloud computing market in healthcare will be worth in the neighborhood of $5 billion by 2017.<\/p>\n

The Benefits<\/strong>
\nWhen the cloud is leveraged, healthcare institutions don\u2019t need to invest in hardware infrastructure and maintenance. In addition to this, cloud collaboration enables hospitals, private practitioners, doctors, and clinics to improve services for patients by opening the pathway for health care providers to easily share information. Cloud-based storage gives information to anyone who’s taking care of the patients, allowing healthcare practitioners to view their patients\u2019 longitudinal history, diagnoses and treatments.<\/p>\n

American Sentinel University\u2019s Dr. Suzanne Richins, a former RN, says cloud-based applications benefit nurses and patients at point of care significantly, and that nurses with a nursing informatics specialization will soon be in high demand to manage health information systems.<\/p>\n

\"IBM<\/a>

IBM Cloud Computing (Photo credit: IvanWalsh.com)<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cEarly in my career, I worked in the ER,\u00a0and in my experience a couple minutes would pass before the patient would remember specifics about their condition,\u201d shared Richins. \u201cThis is a detriment because time is of the essence. People aren\u2019t generally good historians when they\u2019re ill. They often forget what meds they’re on. The cloud gives us access to important data.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stephen Baker, author of \u201cThe Numerati and Final Jeopardy, Man vs Machine and the Quest to Know Everything\u201d explores the harvesting and use of data.
\n\u201cThe other problem the cloud addresses [in healthcare] is the duplication of tests,\u201d Bakers said. \u201cThe fact that data is now available in the cloud eliminates duplication\u2026 the care is more targeted. The care of patients needs to be personalized based on their history and physiology.\u201d<\/p>\n

While the cloud provides great benefits to the healthcare industry, there are more than a few precautions to take when adopting the technology.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The Concerns<\/strong>
\nCloud service providers are required to comply with many privacy standards such as HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act<\/a>). \u00a0Today there are a number of cloud providers offering HIPAA compliance, which Richins says should be taken quite seriously.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople need to careful when they’re picking a cloud provider,\u201d said Richins. \u201cHospitals need to make sure their provider is following the laws. Individuals can be liable for breeches, and ultimately the person taking care of the patient is responsible.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe scariest scenarios I can think of involve companies breaking the law,\u201d said Baker. \u201cI think privacy concerns on the part of the public will tend to keep the players honest, everything being relative.\u201d
\nSo what\u2019s the future of the cloud in the healthcare industry on a grand scale? Baker says it\u2019s all contingent upon what\u2019s shared.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe future of cloud collaboration in medicine depends in great part on the industry settling on open standards,\u201d said Baker. \u201cIf hospital groups are able to keep their data within their ecosystems of suppliers and partners, and use it as leverage to gain market share, we face a fractured industry, and we won’t stand to benefit from collaboration. In short, in many ways we won’t have the medical Internet we’ve been wanting and deserving for the last 20 years.\u201d<\/p>\n

Used with the permission of http:\/\/thenetwork.cisco.com\/<\/em><\/p>\n

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