With time, the healthcare industry has bought many innovations to help society. Thus, it has witnessed the immense digital revolution. Many are adopting new technologies, such as the cloud and telehealth, to meet the pace of change.
Cloud computing means delivering computing services like servers, storage, database, networking, software, analytics, and intelligence over the internet. Moreover, cloud computing is part of the ongoing digital revolution in the healthcare industry. One such domain that cloud computing is bringing forth is telemedicine. We will discuss how cloud computing is helping telehealth in this article.
In these Five Ways, Cloud Computing is Making Telehealth more Efficient and Agile:
Fast Deployment:
During the pandemic, healthcare providers needed something to help society. The already available technology of telehealth was capable of response. But telemedicine services had to implement almost immediately. The legacy system and budget constraints were primary roadblocks.
However, healthcare providers who had shifted to the cloud were not bound to such ill-fate. They could implement telemedicine services quickly. They did not have to worry about extra costs and scalability issues. Because the cloud applications do not require any additional hardware or software, and the entire process takes hours to complete.
Security:
Maintaining the security of patient data is a vital requirement. Moreover, the data storage should work in compliance with legal requirements such as HIPAA, GDPR, and PHIPA to maintain patient confidentiality and patient health information (PHI). Thus, healthcare providers must use high-level security and protocols to protect patient data.
Yet, some of the best cloud providers also do so. Microsoft Azure is the best example of these cloud providers. Every year, Microsoft Corporation invests billions of dollars into cloud security to ensure high privacy and data security standards.
Easy Collaboration:
With cloud computing, collaborating with others is very easy. Stakeholders can collaborate more effectively using the cloud by stopping information silos and transparency. Moreover, doctors, nurses, and caregivers can share data in real time using the cloud.
For example, physicians can use a cloud-based video conferencing system or application to consult with their patients. Furthermore, the cloud provides flexibility to doctors and patients, as they can access medical reports at any time and anywhere. Doctors can perform personal interactions with patients easily. As a result, the patients will not have to wait for long to get needed care.
Scalability and Flexibility:
Cloud computing supports scalability and flexibility. These two also come in handy while maintaining a telehealth application. The Healthcare system is becoming more and more collaborative, patient-centered, and data-driven. Telehealth providers can leverage the scalability and flexibility of cloud solutions to fulfill their IT requirements.
When using the cloud, you only need to pay for the service that you are using. In addition to this, there is also no need for extra software or hardware. The flexibility to increase or decrease the cloud storage capacity according to demand. Another reason for telehealth providers to shift their services to the cloud.
Data Storage:
With more data comes the need for more data storage. Ten million patients use telehealth services. As a result, hundreds of terabytes of data in various formats and millions of documents need storage. The documents may include radiology images, electronic health records, audio/video recordings, and streaming data.
With the cloud, healthcare providers can store all necessary data in one place and access it at any moment. In addition to this, cloud providers also provide storage tiers ranging from hot, and cold storage. Hot storage is used for frequently accessed data, while in cold storage, you can store seldomly used data.
Conclusion:
The healthcare industry is entering a technological era with telehealth. But telehealth seems an impossible task without cloud computing. In addition to this, a study by Harvard Business states that 97% of patients prefer telemedicine after their first experience.
If you are interested in developing a telehealth application, you need a reliable cloud provider. Cloud providers such as Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, AWS, etc., are very reliable. In what ways do you think cloud computing can help or change the healthcare industry? Tell us in the comments what you think. See you at the next one!!!
