At Revenuexl.com, you will learn more about EMRs and EHRs in relation to the healthcare sector. There are very important advantages to why there is a need to implement cloud technology in the health care sector. In a general point of view, cloud computing refers to a model of computing which allows users to access on-demand application together with its data through a provider who is a third party via the internet. There are various models that are available in the market.
As a service, the software is a type of method which offers electronic medical records (EMRs) or electronic health records (EHRs) as a service and might be the most appealing. The advantages which come with such are vast including:
- Users will have access which is unlimited to the software and can use whatever device as long as it is connected to the internet.
- There is no chaining the user to use a single stationary computer.
- It is possible to share data with other systems.
- All the users of the software are able to utilize the same version.
- Upgrades and maintenance to newer versions are very easy.
- The healthcare data security is greatly improved.
- The system has its own support of IT.
- Investment in database or application management is unnecessary.
The above advantages should result in cost savings which are significant, ensuring resources are freed for user support and implementation. The health care which has implemented the cloud care technologies tends to save on the costs of healthcare.
Disadvantages
As much as there are pros in regard to using cloud technologies, it also comes with a lot of disadvantages when health care is transitioning to cloud-based hosting. Turning over the security, data, control and availability to a third party denotes that, your company doesn’t have any control over its data being stored. The trust in your provider of the cloud service takes a whole new meaning. Privacy and security, which are the main issues in the health care market, need to be bulletproof.
Other critical issues include the availability of data, limitation of errors, rapid response time and backups. There are vendors who might have more capabilities as compared to individual users. The disclosure which is unauthorized of the information results in consequences that are severe to the organization and a cost fluctuation in restoring and recovering data as well as being able to notify individuals who are affected.
When you are considering a particular host provider’s stability, the firmness of the structure of pricing and uptime or availability of guarantees are very important. Your vendor and organization must have enough bandwidth to be in a position to accommodate all your needs. Dependency on a software is risky especially if it is slow to the point that it becomes unusable. The vendor size is not a good measure of how perfect the service provision will be.
Liability and Contract
The truth of the matter is that, when you move to a vendor who is cloud-based, it means that, you are willingly handing the control of your organization to the IT operations which include your private data. In case there is a problem with your software or even your data, and you have a vendor who is not cooperative, it is likely to adversely affect your whole network.
To make the vendor help you with your problem, you will need to rely on the contract that you signed with them during the purchase and installation. This means that contracts are a very important factor when moving to cloud based computing services. You should never accept a standard contract which are normally provided by some vendors, as it is at times very biased in the favor of the vendor.
Due to the cloud provider having total control of your data and the entire applications, the contract needs to be in such a way that the vendor should bear the costs when it comes to remedying a security or data breach, including having to notify all the affected patients.
When you understand all the pros and cons that accompany moving to the cloud system in healthcare, you will be in a better position to make an informed decision for your organization. But since the pros surpass the cons, most organizations have overlooked them and went ahead to install these systems and they are working for them.
With a proper guideline while following the above tips, it will improve the security of your data, ensuring that processes at your work station are done in real-time and you serving the patients faster. It will save lives especially in cases of emergencies and accidents when the availability of information lies between the patient’s thin line of life and death. It improves the efficiency of the health care facility in question.