There are plenty of benefits to using cloud computing to share health data. Of course, the cloud isn't perfect. When it comes to diagnostic imaging, for instance, massive file sizes make even online access tricky.
But when you pair benefits such as ease of use with improvements such as greater efficiency and lower costs, it's easy to see why more organizations are turning to cloud computing solutions to gather and share digital records.
- It's easy to access
- It's cost-effective
- It improves efficiency
Online sharing can solve the interoperability problem—the challenge of communication between healthcare providers, including physician's offices, hospitals, and specialty practices, which often have different computer and software setups and use a variety of external devices to store and share images. With cloud computing, resources, software, and data are stored and accessed online—all that's needed is an Internet connection. (And, really, who doesn't have Internet access these days?)
Although government stimulus money will help some healthcare organizations pay for EMR systems, the cost of achieving meaningful use of health information systems is still a big issue. Independent practitioners, in particular, are worried. Similar to a data plan on a smartphone, with cloud computing solutions, organizations only pay for what they use. And another boon to small physician practices, in particular: They don't have to pay for software or hardware or keep data storage onsite—and they don't have to pay for special IT staff to manage, maintain, and service it.
With more than 500,000 outpatient visits per year at Yale-New Haven (CT) Hospital, it is critical that medical imaging records are captured and shared as efficiently as possible and that exams are instantly available to clinicians. "The ability to load and access imaging information in advance of the patient's appointment [improves] productivity and patient care," says Michael Matthews, director of clinical imaging and information systems at Yale-New Haven, which will use a cloud computing platform to collect and share diagnostic imaging information in its new 168-bed Smilow Cancer Hospital and within its trauma unit during emergency transfers from remote locations.
- It puts patient information where it needs to be
- It's user friendly
Healthcare leaders and clinicians often talk about the importance of having data available at the right place at the right time. Cloud computing can collect and organize data from a variety of sources—from EMRs to pharmacy records to claims. And it puts it in the hands of primary care physicians, specialty physicians, nurses, other hospital employees, and patients. "It's literally available anywhere, anytime. If you have a Web-based link and an account, you can get in," says Richard Mohnk, vice president and chief information officer at HealthAlliance Hospital in Leominster, MA.
It takes time to learn a new system, input data, and adjust to changes in workflow—these are all common grievances among physicians when it comes to electronic health systems. "The more you can make it so that it's something people can teach themselves, the better off you're going to be," Mohnk says. And clinicians who have pet devices such as iPhones or iPads can use devices that they're already familiar with to access data. New Wi-Fi channels can handle greater amounts of data than earlier versions. The Wi-Fi protocol (802.11n) allows sharing of radiology images, video, and other multigigabyte files on more kinds of devices.
To read more about how a number of organizations, including The Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, FL, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City, and Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center in Boston are using cloud computing to transfer diagnostic images, read Data in the Clouds in the October issue of HealthLeaders magazine.