The 9 Biggest Benefits of Cloud Technology in Healthcare

Digital transformation increasingly means using SaaS platforms connected to the cloud, and 81% of healthcare executives say that the pace of digital transformation at their organization is accelerating. See why that’s great news for your business, whether you’re a small clinic or major hospital, in this blog post exploring the biggest benefits of implementing cloud technology in healthcare.

1. Fortifies Data Security

It’s easy to think of putting sensitive information on the internet as being inherently unsafe, but cloud services are built with security in mind. They include data encryption, multiple server locations, fail safes to protect servers against physical damage like fires, and backups in case of a disaster or a user accidentally deleting crucial files.  

If you work in the healthcare industry, you’re probably already conscious of HIPAA regulations and work to ensure that patient data is secure to stay HIPAA-compliant. But a significant amount of that work is done for you when your data is in the cloud, making this technology a huge benefit for healthcare companies. 

Related Post: What Is HIPAA Compliance and Why Is It Important? 

2. Increases Scalability and Cost-Effectiveness

If you intend to grow your organization, then getting the scalability of the cloud as early as possible is one of the best business decisions you can make. While this is particularly the case for healthcare SMBs like private practices or local clinics, even the biggest networks benefit from only paying for the amount of storage that they need. 

It doesn’t make sense to have one system of record-keeping now if you intend to outgrow it in the future. Plus, it allows you to devote more of your revenue to the medicine and technology that will save patient lives by being cost-effective with the technology that keeps their records.  

3. Collaborative Care Between Primary Care Physicians and Specialists

The global clinical communication and collaboration market is expected to grow to over $5 billion by 2027, according to Reports and Data.

This increase is coming from remote devices, wearables, and technology that enables remote collaboration relying on the cloud. When a patient needs care from a team of doctors, whether they’re in the same hospital or totally different healthcare systems, cloud technology can ensure that all providers have the most up-to-date notes, lab results, and changes in medical history. 

It allows doctors to work in sync and provide the best possible care, instead of missing important information because the updated chart hasn’t reached them yet. 

4. Improves Data Storage

Cloud technology doesn’t just offer digital benefits to healthcare organizations. It also saves space in your offices when you shift your physical paper records to digital files in the cloud, not to mention that it makes those records easily findable and searchable. 

The healthcare industry is generating the world’s largest volume of data, and by 2025, healthcare data is expected to reach a CAGR of 36%. It doesn’t make sense to keep paying for space or additional on-premise servers to store all of it, particularly when that storage gives your doctors and nurses fewer options for accessing the crucial information it contains. 

5. More Datasets for Medical Research

Medical research requires large datasets to create statistically significant data. With cloud technology, it’s possible for researchers to get the data they need much more quickly and easily without compromising patient privacy. 

With patient opt-ins, accurate synthetic data, and advanced querying language that provides results to researchers without giving them real clinical data, there are methods of sharing data from even protected clinical trials to other researchers. The next generation of medical technology and pharmaceuticals will be made possible by organizations using the cloud. 

6. Allows Predictive Healthcare

By keeping medical records easily accessible through the cloud, your organization will be able to use software that takes patient data from the past to forecast possibilities for their health in the future. While AI-assisted software can’t predict the future, it can use similar cases with current data to suggest likely outcomes, helping doctors, nurses, and patients plan to handle them ahead of time. 

While this is very similar to the work that doctors and nurses have always done anyway, the software automatically compiles data into actionable insights for them, making their job easier and more accurate. In fact, 82% of CWC survey respondents said that a top benefit of analytics like this is improved patient care. 

Related Post: Why Does Predictive Analytics in Healthcare Matter? 

7. Accessible From Anywhere

The past few years have made it particularly clear that even the most sensitive data needs to be accessible from anywhere. Whether your employees are working from home, paying house visits, or just operating in a new office, cloud technology allows them to get the data they need to effectively treat patients no matter where they are. 

Even if your entire staff only works from within your controlled environment, if you plan to upgrade your technology at any point, you’ll still have to implement new devices. The accessibility of the cloud means that getting those devices ready for use will be a snap so they can truly aid in patient care rather than distract from it. 

8. Enables Telehealth Services

The widespread necessity of using virtual healthcare services came about with COVID-19, but telehealth is here to stay. 

43% of adults say they’d like to continue using telehealth after the pandemic is over, according to the American Psychiatric Association.

Telehealth helps connect patients in any circumstances with the healthcare providers that they need. It involves more than a Zoom call with a doctor, though. It requires the ability to securely send files, sign documents, and collaborate with specialists. This is all made not just possible, but easy, by using cloud technology. 

9. Protects Patients After a Disaster

Having accurate, up-to-date patient data is particularly important during a crisis, like a natural disaster. However, if all of your documents are kept in on-premise servers — or worse, paper files — they could be destroyed, unusable, or at least inaccessible when they’re needed most. 

That makes disaster planning one of the most urgent benefits of cloud technology in healthcare. Patient records stay safe on remote servers, so all they need to be accessed is an internet connection. There’s no need to waste valuable time trying to source documents or take new patient histories. The cloud means that you can get more actual recovery from your disaster recovery plan. 

Bottom Line

The benefits of cloud technology in healthcare today are extensive. It keeps information safer, more accessible, and allows professionals to utilize it in groundbreaking, innovative ways to improve patient care. 

Most healthcare-related businesses use cloud technology in some form, and any that don’t have fallen behind. Patients expect it because it makes communicating with their medical team easier and faster. 

No matter the size of your business, the cloud is affordable and beneficial. Particularly if you ever intend on growing your organization, it’s worth it to invest in the right cloud technology from the beginning to get the most of its benefits and easily scale up later. 

If you work in the healthcare industry, the question is no longer if you should rely on cloud technology. The only question is how your specific business can make the most of its benefits. 

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