The Benefits Of Cloud Computing In Healthcare

The pandemic caused some fundamental shifts in how we all work and live, and for many that meant working where we live, as companies all around the world scrambled to enable remote working, and the healthcare sector was no different.

Medical Device and Diagnostic Industry Online report that COVID-19 has forced the hand of those previous unwilling to accept cloud technology, which has become invaluable for radiologists working from home or remotely, and was discussed in detail at the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) 2021 annual meeting.

Let’s have a brief look at some of the benefits of cloud computing in healthcare.

Cloud storage

The immediate and one of the more important benefits is the ability to store, retrieve, and archive DICOM (Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine) files received from medical imaging.

Broad network access

Data in the cloud is then accessible to authorised users from various devices – commuters, tablets, and even smartphones – regardless of their physical location. The data is secured and patient privacy protected through a HIPAA-compliant, SSL-encrypted network connection.

Versatility

Healthcare clouds can be used to aid clinical diagnosis, teaching, consulting, reviewing, and testing, as well as for communicating with patients.

Higher storage capacity

Local PACS (picture archiving and communication system) systems might be able to cater to existing requirements for storage, cloud-based PACS is set to become the standard long-term archiving solution and can be scaled up as storage capacity needs to increase.

Easier, faster, and more reliable sharing of information

The ability to share medical imaging data and related documents in the cloud securely, protecting patients’ rights and privacy without having to store data on CDs and send them out to different locations.

Lower risk of losing data

With local PACS, all of your patient information is vulnerable to any hardware damage. One unfortunate event can result in complete loss of stored data.

Cloud-based medical storage is completely immune to anything happening to the on-premises PACS hardware. Regardless of the physical damage, the data remains safely stored in the cloud and accessible from any device.

If you’re interested in cloud-based medical imaging and want more information, talk to us today.