Cloud in Healthcare Industry – Benefits and Use Cases

After the COVID-19 pandemic, the healthcare sector is experiencing a significant surge in innovation. This healthcare domain faced massive digital transformation, affecting most aspects of the industry, including predictiveness, security, accessibility, performance affordability, and more.

But if we talk about technologies that can help redefine the healthcare sector – cloud technology, artificial intelligence, machine learning, etc. These next-gen technology trends are behind the unparalleled growth of healthcare companies and other sectors as well, including finance and accounting, manufacturing, retail, and more.

Moreover, cloud technology is one of the enormous shifts in the healthcare sector as it simplifies and enhances medical data creation, storage, consumption, and sharing.

Nearby, 92% of healthcare institutions have attained better patient experiences with the help of digital transformation, and the management of the healthcare processes digitally only became possible because of the implementation of cloud technology in healthcare.

According to McKinsey, cloud-based healthcare solutions could generate a value of $100 billion to $170 billion by 2030. The primary driver of this growing value lies in enabling healthcare companies to innovate, digitize, and achieve their strategic objectives more effectively.

Let’s delve deeper to understand the different benefits and use cases of cloud in healthcare and how it is recasting the domain.

What is Cloud Computing in Healthcare?

Cloud technology for the healthcare sector involves implementing remote server access through the Internet to manage, store, and process data securely. This process enhances flexibility, ultimately helping healthcare stakeholders access data remotely regardless of location.

Cloud in healthcare helps both patients and healthcare providers, allowing them to use vast amounts of data securely, improve patient care, and streamline operations. Additionally, this technology helps medical institutions lower operational costs while allowing them to focus on delivering high-quality personalized care.

“With the cloud, individuals and small businesses can snap their fingers and instantly set up enterprise-class services.” Roy Stephan (Director of IT architecture and engineering – Intelligent Decisions)

Benefits of Cloud in the Healthcare Sector

Streamlined Administrative Processes

Cloud-based healthcare solutions allow you to automate various administrative tasks, including scheduling, billing, and patient management. This can enhance efficiency and lower healthcare staff’s burden and responsibilities.

Moreover, by embracing cloud in healthcare, healthcare professionals can maintain their focus on patient care and other crucial activities.

Lowers Healthcare Cost

If you adopt cloud in healthcare, you will have real-time availability of various resources, including computing power, data storage, and security. Additionally, there are no additional charges for adopting cloud technology, as it follows the pay-as-you-go model, which means you just need to pay for what you use.

Moreover, with cloud technology, you can scale up your environment without investing extra money. Every day, patient data is added to healthcare software and EMRs, and this enormous amount of data can only be handled with a cloud-based solution, allowing you to scale storage while maintaining low costs.

Ownership of Patients’ Data

Cloud applications in healthcare allow patients access to their medical reports, test results, doctors’ notes, and other health-related data, ultimately allowing them to make decisions based on their reports. With cloud-based healthcare, you can also increase the system uptime while reducing data redundancy and recovering lost data easily.

Improved Collaboration

Cloud-based healthcare solutions can intensify collaboration between healthcare providers, stakeholders, and patients. Cloud technology allows you to save patient reports electronically over cloud storage, which means patients are no longer required to carry their medical reports when visiting the doctor.

Doctors can view the comprehensive patient report and share it with other doctors in real-time, enabling them to offer more customized and better treatment.

Reinforces Security

The healthcare sector deals with enormous amounts of data, which makes it attractive to malicious attackers and increases the risk of cyberattacks and data breaches. By applying cloud technology in healthcare, healthcare providers and medical institutions can ensure data safety, as this technology proactively informs them about any suspicious attempts.

Uses Cases of Cloud in Healthcare Sector

Here are some key use cases of cloud in the healthcare industry:

Revenue Cycle Management

Efficient management of the revenue cycle is critical in healthcare. Cloud-based systems streamline billing, claims processing, and collections, reducing the time between patient service and payment. This improves cash flow and reduces the risk of financial loss due to denied claims.

Regulatory Compliance and Reporting

Healthcare organizations must comply with stringent regulations, such as HIPAA and SOX. Cloud systems can be configured to automatically adhere to these regulations, ensuring accurate and timely reporting while maintaining data security.

Cost Allocation and Management

Cloud technology allows for precise cost tracking and allocation across different departments, services, or projects. This helps healthcare providers identify areas where costs can be reduced, optimize resource allocation, and enhance overall financial performance.

Telemedicine and Remote Healthcare Services

With the rise of telemedicine, cloud can manage the financial aspects of remote services, such as billing for virtual consultations and managing insurance claims for remote treatments. This ensures that revenue from telehealth services is accurately captured and managed.

Integration with Electronic Health Records (EHR)

Cloud systems can integrate with EHR systems, providing a seamless flow of financial data. This integration ensures that billing information is accurately linked to patient records, reducing errors and improving the efficiency of financial operations.

Improved Cash Flow Management

Cloud-based tools help in managing cash flow more effectively by offering insights into payment cycles, outstanding receivables, and future financial obligations. This helps healthcare organizations maintain liquidity and financial stability.

These use cases demonstrate how cloud can enhance financial operations, compliance, and overall efficiency in the healthcare industry.

Real-World Examples of Cloud Technology in Healthcare

Here are some real-world examples of how cloud technology is being used in the healthcare industry:

Soniphi – Uses Cloud-based Healthcare Solutions to Provide Patients with a Complete Medical Analysis Report

Soniphi is the famous frequencies-based personal wellness system that uses cloud-based healthcare solutions to offer patients comprehensive medical reports on personal healthcare apps. Their cloud infrastructure supports multiple things, including – remote patient monitoring, early disease diagnosis, and telehealth consultations.

Teladoc – Uses Cloud Infrastructure to Offer Real-time Doctor-Patient Video Conferencing

Teladoc Health is one of the leading telemedicine providers that uses cloud-based services to connect patients with doctors for virtual consultations. The cloud infrastructure supports secure data exchange, real-time video conferencing, and remote monitoring, ultimately making healthcare more accessible, regardless of location.

The Future Of Cloud Technology In the Healthcare Sector

Conclusion

Most healthcare corporations are rapidly embracing cloud solutions to handle vast amounts of data, streamline operations, and improve patient care. So, irrespective of your healthcare business size, leveraging cloud solutions will help you in multiple aspects, from disaster recovery to virtual desktops to big data analytics.

Moreover, embracing cloud technology in the healthcare industry will make medical record sharing safer and easier and automate various operational processes. It will contribute to a more agile healthcare environment, enhancing patient care and healthcare service delivery.

Cloud in the healthcare industry is rapidly rising, and it is poised for massive transformation in the coming years. If you haven’t adopted cloud technology, look forward to including it in your healthcare business.