Cloud technology is penetrating deep into every industry because of its ability to offer seamless services over the network.
And, healthcare is one of the rapid adopters of cloud computing technology.
As the surveys show, the global healthcare cloud market is expected to grow to USD 35.6 billion by 2022, at an annual CAGR of 11.6 percent.
Currently, 83 percent of the healthcare industry is already using cloud technology.
What’s Driving ‘Cloud’ in Healthcare?
There are many reasons for driving cloud demand in the healthcare industry.
Some of the key reasons include:
• Data Access: Accessing the right data from large volumes has been a tough task for healthcare. Cloud made that easier by streamlining the data access, thus making it easy to track patient records.
• Storage and Management: Data storage is not that easy and inefficient management can cause a break in the process. Cloud helps you in this, cutting down your costs required for management by means of additional staff.
• Data Backup: With effective backup and recovery options, the cloud ensures no data is lost and promises required data safety.
• Smart Data Solutions: Cloud provides scope for effective utilization of smart data solutions like Big Data, thus helping in identification, prediction, and make informed decision-making.
• Interoperability Cloud creates perfect sync between the data and devices in the form of wearable devices, IoT-enabled devices, facilitating data interoperability.
• Effective and informed decision-making: This is another key advantage with cloud usage that helps healthcare pros to make informed decisions using the easily accessible and transferable data on the cloud.
• Research-backed solutions: Cloud enables medical pros to take research-backed solutions, thus helping them make accurate decisions that are extensive in nature if required.
• Telehealth Services: Online health consulting and remote healthcare support are the most happening trends, globally. Cloud stands at the core for telehealth services.
There are many such advantages that the cloud offers to the healthcare sector.
Cloud on Demand, Security A Concern
Let's take a look at the overall healthcare cloud market, by demand and security challenge:
By Demand
• The global cloud healthcare market is expected to register at a CAGR of 2 percent towards 2022
• The North American healthcare cloud market is poised to be a USD 51.4 billion market by 2024
• The average cost of an average health record is USD 50
• An average healthcare provider upload nearly 8 TB per month onto the cloud
By Security Challenge
• 93 percent of the cloud services in the healthcare sector is at medium-high risk
• More than 90 million health records were exposed in the last 12 months
• Only 7 percent of cloud services in use are meeting compliance and security norms
• Only 4 percent of healthcare services using cloud support multi-factor authentication
It is evident in the above facts that cloud computing is also posing a challenge to the healthcare sector in the name of security.
Factors that are serious concerns for the healthcare industry in using cloud computing are:
• Data Loss: Data sensitivity is of topmost concern for most companies. While there exist solutions like blockchain, IAM, and others to secure the critical patient data and other electronic health records, cyber threats are fast emerging posing a continuous threat to data loss.
• Compliance and Regulatory: Given the above figure, it's evident that only a very less percentage of healthcare services using cloud are meeting the compliance norms like HIPPA, GDPR, among others.
• Unexpected Disasters and Downtimes: Despite many measures, unexpected downtimes and disasters continue to be the haunting factors for data security and data safety. However, having a disaster recovery or a business continuity plan can limit the severity of the loss.
As the records show, many such factors have caused considerable losses to the healthcare industry, US and globally, exposing lakhs of patient records and other crucial health information.
In Conclusion
Security concerns around cloud are on the rise, on par with the demand for cloud adoption in the healthcare sector. Despite many emerging solutions, healthcare companies are still worried about the security of patient data and other confidential records.
So, finding a solution to these security risks makes cloud computing in healthcare a successful story. And, you would need a strategic cloud consulting partner to do so! Look for the one who can meet your business requirements and get the best out of security advantage in the cloud.
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