There’s no question that these are challenging times in the healthcare sector. Organizations must stretch tight budgets to meet increasing service demands, all while complying with new regulations and healthcare reform legislation.
At the same time, tech-savvy consumers are demanding a higher level of interaction than ever before; they want instant online access to information, products and services through multiple devices, anywhere, anytime.
As cloud technologies start to dominate in other industries – such as the financial services sector – healthcare is thankfully beginning to embrace the important trend. In fact, results of a 2014 HIMSS Analytics Cloud Survey last spring show the widespread adoption of cloud services among healthcare organizations across the U.S., with 80 percent of 150 participants reporting they currently use cloud services. The survey also reflects positive growth outlook for cloud services – almost all healthcare organizations now using cloud services say they plan to further expand their use of these technologies.
The cloud is already helping medical providers and patients collaborate better and offer more timely diagnoses. Medical imaging is one major example. Subscribing to a cloud solution for storing and sharing the huge data files involved in medical imaging can save hospitals, physicians and other organizations in the healthcare value chain heavy, up-front investments in high-capacity systems, while also boosting speed and efficiency.
Here are five other areas in healthcare that are benefiting from all that the cloud has to offer.
1. Simplify remote reads for telestroke victims.
Strokes are the third leading cause of death in the U.S., and doctors say time is of the essence when it comes to treatment. Studies show that a victim who is treated within three hours of a stroke has a significantly lower risk of permanent brain damage or death than one who waits for treatment. Telestroke, which is often used for medical consultations in rural areas, allows a neurologist to provide remote treatment for victims. With the cloud, these services are now being utilized by larger, urban facilities to allow delivery of services to smaller hospitals and private physician offices.
2. Organize and store historical priors for mammograms.
When it comes to women’s healthcare, having long-term partners is critical. This is especially the case when doctors need access to images year after year, as well as store massive amounts of data. The latest cloud technology has helped many healthcare centers build agile processes around image management. This type of technology makes it easy for medical professionals to push studies wherever they need to go, as well as easily obtain and keep priors orderly.
A Deep-dive Into Specialty Pharma
A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
3. Provide anywhere-access in world of sports medicine.
With the latest in cloud technology, healthcare professionals now have the ability to bring medical diagnostic equipment, experience and real-time service to professional sports teams anywhere, anytime. In mere seconds, the highest quality scans afford team care providers the diagnostic confidence to make immediate diagnoses after quick image acquisition, processing and viewing. By teaming up with cloud-based platforms, today’s sports medicine physicians can access endless medical data, such as X-rays, blood tests and medications.
4. Store personal health records for easy patient-access.
It’s no secret that today’s patients are more in tune with their health – this means they want to control their records, analyze them and understand what the information means. This instant access to personal medical images (i.e., X-rays, MRIs and scans) and reports can easily be shared with other physicians, and also provide a more convenient way for patients to access and store their records.
5. Virtually access second opinions.
The cloud’s state-of-the art online image sharing portals allow for second opinion services, giving patients access to specialized care without having to rely on travel. These technologies make it easier than ever for patients to securely upload complex medical images along with their associated reports, and to input information to seek a second opinion.
Over the next few years, those healthcare players that fail to move fast to grab hold of the cloud opportunity will face losing their competitive edge. Forward-thinking healthcare organizations must embrace cloud computing as a strategy that will eventually transform how their entire organization operates. It will indeed payoff in the end.
