Doctors, nurses, caregivers and other healthcare professionals aim to do their best when caring for patients or clients. Due to the challenges that workers in the healthcare industry face, there have been efforts to provide them with tools and resources to make their work easier. Cloud computing is proving to be a crucial piece of technology in revolutionizing how healthcare facilities are run and how providers offer their services. Cloud computing offers several benefits worth discussing to appreciate the significance of this technology.

Cloud Computing in Healthcare

Cloud computing is the on-demand delivery of various computing services over the internet. These services include software, databases, analytics and servers. Instead of having on-premise servers and data centers, users access computing power and storage from a cloud service provider. Cloud computing in healthcare is the application of cloud computing services or resources to manage, process or perform healthcare-related tasks.

Cloud computing is a prominent trend in the healthcare industry, with most organizations using cloud solutions. In addition, the healthcare cloud computing market is currently valued at $58.93 billion in 2024 and is expected to hit $170.82 billion by 2030. The advantages of these solutions are the main drivers of the growth and adoption of cloud computing in healthcare.

Cloud Computing Benefits in Healthcare

As more healthcare organizations plan to use cloud solutions but still doubt if it’s a worthy investment, one question to ask is why healthcare companies should use cloud computing. To answer this question, we explore the main advantages of cloud computing in the healthcare industry.

Improve Electronic Record Keeping

The electronic medical records (EMR) mandate, which came into effect in 2014, requires hospitals and healthcare facilities to demonstrate meaningful use of electronic medical records for storing data about patient interactions. In addition, the EMR mandate requires all medical records to be converted to digital formats. Meaningful use of EMR includes:

• Engaging patients and their families in their health
• Improving quality, efficiency and safety
• Reducing health disparities
• Ensuring adequate privacy and security protection for personal health information
• Improving population and public health

Healthcare organizations use cloud computing solutions to store and process patient information. These solutions make it easy to archive and retrieve patient data and enable access to EMR data from any device at any time. These qualities make it easy for hospitals and healthcare facilities to demonstrate meaningful use of patient data.

Enable a More Patient-Centric Approach

Patients want to be involved in their care journey, and cloud computing solutions like telemedicine make this possible. Through telehealth solutions, patients can access their health records and get real-time access to their laboratory results and doctor’s notes, information that allows them to manage their health better. Doctors can access patients’ medical histories and avoid overprescribing or doing unnecessary tests.

Enhance Collaboration

Doctors, nurses, pharmacists, caregivers and other healthcare providers often need to collaborate when caring for patients, but traditional methods of communication can lead to errors. Using technology helps eliminate the dangers of human errors in communication and collaborations between healthcare providers. Healthcare cloud computing takes collaboration further by ensuring real-time information and data exchange, facilitating faster service delivery to clients or patients.

Historically, patients had separate files for each specialist or hospital they visited. It was difficult to collaborate effectively when caring for or treating the patient. Cloud solutions allow for seamless transfer and sharing of data between specialists and hospitals. Doctors can view the interaction of results for each visit to different specialists or hospitals. This collaboration facilitates more accurate diagnosis and treatment. Cloud computing eliminates the need for patients to have separate files or medical records at each doctor they see.

Cloud computing technologies also enable specialists to make virtual visits, transfer their expertise on patient cases or offer their opinions to improve diagnosis and treatment.

Improve Decision-Making

One of the most important benefits of cloud computing in healthcare is improved decision-making. When decisions make the difference between health and continued illnesses or even between life and death, the role of technology in improving decision-making cannot be understated. Doctors can use patient medical records to make informed, data-driven decisions.

Cloud computing technologies integrate and analyze data from different sources in real time. In addition, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning algorithms can help doctors gain insights into disease patterns, treatment outcomes and patient health trends. These capabilities enable providers to make more informed decisions and develop personalized care plans.

Cloud computing also enhances remote monitoring of patients, enabling healthcare providers to make decisions without needing physical visits. Doctors can access patients’ vitals and crucial details in real time, allowing providers to monitor more efficiently and respond promptly to any concerns.

Tighten Security

Cloud computing offers better data security and compliance features that are useful to healthcare providers. Storing patient records in these cloud platforms reduces the risks of cyber attacks and security breaches. Features such as data encryption can be used to store and retrieve data in the cloud and provide secure communication.

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) protects sensitive patient information from being disclosed without the patient’s knowledge or consent. Hospitals and healthcare facilities can use HIPAA-compliant cloud storage solutions to ensure compliance with this regulation.

Cloud computing solutions providers must keep the data stored in their platforms secure. Although cloud solution providers invest time and money in keeping their systems secure, hospitals and other healthcare facilities should still employ measures to protect their data. In addition to data encryption, healthcare institutions should limit access to the data, use keys, create roles and enable authentication.

Reduce Costs

Cloud computing reduces the need for costly in-house IT hardware and software updates. With cloud computing solutions, healthcare facilities only pay for the required computing resources when needed.

Healthcare facilities can also scale their operations without needing additional infrastructure, reducing the costs associated with scaling. On-premise storage solutions have limits, and facilities must buy more storage hardware to accommodate more data. However, cloud-based solutions are subscription-based, and companies can scale up or down without investing in new hardware.

Partner With Prelude Services for Your Cloud Computing Solutions

Cloud computing is important in healthcare, reducing costs and improving decision-making, record-keeping, collaboration and security. These benefits improve patient care, make healthcare providers’ work easier and foster efficiency in healthcare facilities. Prelude Services can help you build the right cloud infrastructure for your organization. We provide 24/7 desktop support, HIPAA IT risk assessment, cloud computing, cybersecurity and other IT support services to healthcare providers. Please contact us for more information about our reliable IT solutions.