Hospital Software: 8 Benefits of Cloud Computing in Healthcare

What would healthcare be like without cloud computing?

Well, look back a decade or two, and you can see that it was a lot less efficient. But nowadays, cloud-based hospital software has worked wonders in the healthcare field.

It’s led to greater privacy, better healthcare results, and lower costs. These outcomes have been invaluable—but they’re only the beginning. Keep reading to learn about the 8 major benefits of cloud computing in healthcare.

1. Efficient Electronic Record-Keeping

Record-keeping is a critical aspect of modern healthcare.

Having a patient’s medical information on hand is important for every hospital and healthcare practice. Plus, federal law requires electronic record-keeping for medical data, as per the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Hospitals and healthcare facilities now use electronic medical records. And this is where cloud computing in healthcare demonstrates its usefulness.

Medical cloud computing can help improve the safety, efficiency, and quality of healthcare services. The use of paper records in hospitals and other medical facilities has long been abandoned.

Hospital software now uploads to the cloud, where records and data are stored for easy retrieval.

2. Patient-Centric Approach

One of the most important benefits of cloud software in healthcare is that it facilitates an approach centered on the patient.

Cloud computing allows patients to have access to their own health data, so they can make informed decisions. Plus, they can migrate this data to other healthcare providers as needed, using a streamlined medical case management system.

The use of on-site solutions alone doesn’t allow this kind of flexibility. But cloud software allows patients to manage their healthcare information. And they can update it easily from mobile and internet-connected devices.

Doctors can leverage cloud computing to personalize their interactions with patients. At the same time, the democratization of health data manages a smooth continuum of care between different providers.

3. Furthers the Goal of Digital Transformation

It’s no surprise that healthcare, along with just about every field in the economy, is rapidly transforming.

The digital infrastructure is accelerating this transformation, but small healthcare facilities lag behind larger institutions in the pace of this change. Cloud computing is a major step in the direction of further digital transformation for the healthcare field.

And since cloud services don’t require major investments in infrastructure, it’s easy for smaller practices and providers to participate.

4. Lowers the Cost of Data Storage

On-site data storage can be costly.

For one thing, there’s a need to invest in expensive hardware. This is the physical architecture that stores data. There’s also the requirement to invest in IT services to secure the data.

None of this is necessary with cloud software in healthcare. Providers can focus on caring for patients, while the cloud solutions take care of data storage. And the result is much lower data storage expenditures.

5. Streamlines Collaborative Care

One of the most amazing benefits of cloud computing is how it makes things easier.

This is particularly the case with collaborative patient care. Cloud storage of electronic records streamlines this process in a way few other technologies can. The easy accessibility of records in the cloud helps healthcare providers collaborate on patient care.

Once upon a time, various doctor’s offices and facilities had separate medical files. To collaborate was difficult, and required circuitous transfer requests. Now, all a doctor needs to do is request access to cloud-stored files, which makes the process smooth and efficient.

6. Greater Data Security

Believe it or not, the use of cloud computing in healthcare has contributed to greater data security.

In the pre-digital days, of course, doctors and medical staff stored patient data and records in filing cabinets. The records themselves were physical hard copies, which were subject to theft.

And it wasn’t theft alone that was the problem. The records could be destroyed through other disasters, such as fire, storm damage, or even just being lost in the shuffle. Data security, needless to say, was almost nonexistent.

Things are different with cloud-based hospital software. Cloud storage and backup is a redundancy against the theft, damage, or destruction of primary files. It’s a way to provide peace of mind, and that’s priceless in the healthcare field.

7. Better Decisions Through Data-Collection

This is an often-overlooked benefit of cloud computing in healthcare.

Cloud software can help to power big data computing, which can inform decisions by analyzing population health patterns. The important thing is to be able to parse the staggering amounts of data generated by healthcare services.

Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) applications, based in the cloud, can help with this process. These powerful, futuristic new tools make it easier for providers to make better and quicker healthcare decisions. Plus, they enable the creation of personalized plans that target a patient’s specific needs.

8. Prevents Data Loss

Disasters will happen. They’re an inevitable part of life.

Cloud software helps to mitigate the effects of these disasters. Whether it’s storm damage, data theft, or power disruptions, regular cloud backups reduce downtime and data loss. By storing patient records in the cloud, that information can be accessed at any time and any place.

Better Healthcare Through Cloud-Based Hospital Software

Ours is fast becoming a data-driven world. Wearable tech and smartphone health apps are collecting and collating medical data like never before.

Cloud computing is a major component in managing that data—from storage to AI analysis. And in the future, we can only expect hospital software to become more integrated with the cloud.

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