New Survey Indicates That IT Consultants in Healthcare Industry are Increasingly Likely to Rely on Cloud
According to a new study conducted by Frost and Sullivan, about 50% of IT consultants in U.S. and European healthcare companies have moved either some or all of their enterprise communications over to cloud. The survey polled over 150 decision makers in order to determine the extent to which cloud is becoming integrated in the healthcare industry.
Frost and Sullivan analyst Karolina Olszewska said that one of the main reasons that healthcare providers are leaning toward cloud solutions is the benefits of increased productivity that the technology allows them to experience.
“A boost in productivity is the top reason for IT investments in large hospitals, small-to-medium-sized hospitals and ambulatory service centers across the U.S. and Europe,” explained Olzewska in a released statement. She also indicated that small hospitals used cloud to retain their workforce, while large hospitals like to use cloud technology in order to facilitate collaboration.
Among these findings, the survey also revealed that, among healthcare institutions, cloud computing was the most adopted technology, and that the healthcare cloud market could, by 2018, eventually be worth approximately $6.5 billion.
One of the reasons that cloud hosting services are not implemented as quickly as they could be are concerns over security. Healthcare providers in the U.S. have to adhere to HIPAA privacy guidelines; HIPAA non-compliance when it comes to the transmission of sensitive patient data can result in hefty fines (up to $1.5 million) for doctor’s offices and hospitals alike. All vendors have to be able to ensure the absolute security of the medical data they handle.
The majority of general cloud hosting providers are not, in fact, complaint with HIPAA rules; they do not have the required protection in place in order to secure user data that would meet HIPAA’s standards.
Luckily, though, there are many cloud solution providers that adhere to stringent security policies, thereby ensuring that information is as safe within cloud as possible. Find out more here.
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