Sometimes it helps to have your head in the clouds.
Cloud computing in healthcare is on the rise. 83% of healthcare providers are using cloud computing. That number is increasing each year.
The cloud has opened many new doors in healthcare which lower costs and create better care. Here’s how cloud computing is revolutionizing the medical sector.
In healthcare, time is a valuable resource. A few precious seconds could save a life.
Information stored in the cloud is quickly retrievable. Rather than searching through filing cabinets, digital information is ready instantly.
Information stored in the cloud is also accessible from any location. A patient who gets injured or sick on vacation still has their records available to doctors wherever they go.
For ages, medical records were kept with physical copies. Papers were filed away and stored until needed.
Then records went more digital. Documents were typed onto a computer and then saved on a local database.
The cloud is the next step in this evolution.
Paper records could be misplaced, become torn or faded, or otherwise damaged in cases of fire or flooding.
Digital records, when stored locally, could also be lost if the machine is damaged. Digital files can corrupt or be deleted. Computers could freeze in the middle of processing, causing documents to not save and lose progress.
The cloud, however, saves information in real-time to a remote location. Saving info to the cloud eliminates the risk of data loss with physical records or local files.
Infomation stored in the cloud is also more secure. While cloud storage comes with the risk of hacking, cloud providers are under intense scrutiny to meet established standards. Local record-keeping is subject to less oversight.
The cloud is able to store and process enormous amounts of information. Procedures, results, and statistics are all recorded.
All this data can be analyzed to find trends, locate problems, and find solutions.
The University of Florida combined Google Maps with big data to create health-related heat maps in Alachua County, Florida. These heat maps showed areas where certain health issues had a greater risk.
By finding where medical issues had higher density, officials were able to more efficiently distribute resources and provide better care to the community.
Without cloud computing in healthcare, creating these maps would have been nearly impossible.
The analysis and research the cloud provides allow medical providers to be more efficient, meaning more people can be helped.
The cloud works with other advancements in technology to provide personalized care.
Rather than hooking patients up to machines, some monitoring devices are being shrunk down and implanted. Patients can live life while still getting valuable information about their body. This info passes from the implant through the cloud directly to the doctors and patients.
For example, a diabetic could get notifications about their insulin level sent straight to their smartphone, as if it were a tweet or an email!
As technology advances, the possibilities for personalized care are endless. And the cloud will be there helping make it happen.
The AME Group has a long history of working with medical providers to reduce cost, increase efficiency, and help save lives.
If you’re ready to ascend to the cloud, contact us today!