Cloud Computing
An interesting challenge that healthcare companies face when making the transition into cloud computing is, what to move into the cloud? Putting aside the technology decision – be it public, private or a hybrid cloud – the return on investment decision can be daunting.
Speed, immediacy and scalability are just a few of the rewards of using the cloud for your applications and data, and the reasons why so many healthcare companies are turning to the cloud to hold even their most critical data.
Every organization is considering “cloud” approaches for their business, yet if you ask “what is cloud” you’ll get a wide range of answers. This variety of cloud options has an impact on healthcare organizations, especially those contemplating a future cloud strategy aligned to regulatory compliance.
Africa has 433 million cell phone subscriptions and only 12 million landlines. Africans have enthusiastically adopted mobile technology because it is accessible, scalable, cost effective and available. By not investing in cloud solutions, today’s healthcare providers are theoretically building the landlines of Africa.
All organizations have a business imperative to control risk. For healthcare companies that corporate responsibility extends to the protection of ePHI within their organization.
America’s population is aging, insurance enrollment is growing, healthcare utilization is increasing, and the cost of delivering medical care is rising. As a result, many companies in the healthcare industry are being challenged to serve more patients and members, to improve the quality of care, and to reduce operational costs.
I was chatting with a friend the other day about how to get people’s attention in this information-overload age, and we decided that the use of buzz words was a critical component of success. So I decided to test this catchy title and see if it leads to any more reader traffic than I usually get.
Healthcare organizations have avoided the use of "public cloud" because of HIPAA/HITECH privacy concerns, lack of breach indemnification/data integrity guarantees, and the unwillingness of many cloud providers to sign business associate agreements.
I was able to talk with Gary Thompson co-founder and CEO of CLOUD Inc. - also known as the Consortium for Local Ownership and Use of Data, Inc.
While many industries are reliant on information technology to deliver services and drive innovation, none is so deeply entwined in IT than healthcare. As such, it should be no surprise that the potential impact of cloud computing is being felt, with mixed feelings, most acutely in this industry.
