Over the next few years, the provisioning and adoption of cloud computing in healthcare is likely to increase. We are seeing a shift from almost zero cloud adoption over the last five years to an enormous amount of healthcare and more specifically, NHS organisations migrating their solutions to cloud infrastructure. This is in part down to the rising need to curtail healthcare costs and enhance the overall quality of healthcare. Furthermore, there is a clear directive from Will Smart, Chief Information Officer (CIO), Health and Care in England for CIOs do more with cloud technology.
There is also a burgeoning focus on better data management, statistical analysis, advanced analytics and artificial intelligence that’s being made easier by the cloud. It’s not only the ability to scale that is appealing, but the security the cloud now offers. With a global network of data centres from trusted vendors like Microsoft, the cloud offers flexibility, security, support, and innovation. In today’s market, the need to provision for a cloud-enabled platform for all healthcare operational practices, as well as the monitoring and process that underpin the functions needed at these types of organisations, adopt of the cloud is fast becoming a business imperative.
So, what are the benefits of the cloud? And who should healthcare organisations partner with to help navigate this environment? Orlando Agrippa, Draper and Dash (D&D) CEO, discusses some of these issues as well as their increasing partnership with Microsoft and the continued availability of cloud solutions as they further revolutionize the healthcare industry.
Delivering trusted partnerships
The adoption of the cloud for healthcare organisations is set to grow. According to MarketsandMarkets, it is expected to reach $9.48 Billion by 2020, rising from $3.73 Billion in 2015. This data is premised on the fact that the “global healthcare cloud computing market is segmented on the basis of application, service model, deployment model, pricing model, component, end user, and region”. As a result, data centres are now more readily available. Microsoft has launched its first UK-based data centres to support cloud services such as Office 365, with the Ministry of Defence and the NHS among its initial customers. This brings all the promise of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning as Microsoft encourages development of apps and platforms to take advantage of their benefits. Microsoft suggests that partners can “take advantage of Azure data services and artificial intelligence to create new experiences that scale, and support deep learning, HPC simulations and real-time analytics on any shape and size of data”. It is also quoted that ninety percent of Fortune 500 companies trust the Microsoft Cloud. This outreach is further emphasizing the importance of collaboration and innovation as technology providers partner with trusted companies like Microsoft as a means to deliver more value to the end client.
Healthcare organisations have not always been the earliest adopters of technology. This is in part due to the cost required to implement IT infrastructure or technology. The NHS is a large, government-funded organisation that is well-known for underfunding and much-needed improvements. But the digital opportunity could enable a new ecosystem that alleviates the pressure healthcare organisations are under to deliver this going digital strategy is here, and available. Rather than being afraid of the digital transformation, those responsible should see this as the opportunity to deliver results. Doing good with data is becoming pervasive, in many industries, and there is no greater good than in healthcare. Of course, efficiency savings need to be handled with care. Having a trusted partner who is fully vested in the success of your project can provide not only long last benefits or business outcomes, but can also forge relationships that deliver above and beyond expectation. Bringing in the right technology partner can mitigate risk, bring on the expertise required and deliver against key performance indicators that are set out from the start.
Benefits of Cloud Computing for Healthcare Organisations
The benefits of adopting a cloud-enabled environment is immense. For security, moving patient records online is top of mind for most healthcare organisations. From a technical perspective, data needs to be encrypted and securely backed up. Patient data is particularly sensitive and this should be approached with care. The cloud also offers increased scalability with enhanced storage to manage big data from varying levels of scale. As a standard practice, healthcare providers generally keep records for at least six years. This means the provisioning and adoption of the cloud can manage huge Electronic Health & Medical Records (EHR/EMR) for the required duration. Flexibility with the cloud provides the right diagnosis at the point of care at the right time. With real-time analytics, doctors and health workers can get access to the right information exactly when they need it. Improved performance is fast become a recognized benefit of the cloud. Firms are focusing on statistical process control (SPC) which helps ensure the process operates efficiently, producing a more specification-conforming product with less waste. Healthcare practices that utilize the power of the cloud are seeing their solutions deliver better business outcomes and improve patient care with statistical analyses. Finally, the cloud can also deliver significant cost reduction. According to a report by Healthcare Financial Management, savings of EMRs/EHRs can amount to upwards of $37 million over a five-year period and help with cost reduction exercises needed for healthcare.
How Draper and Dash can help
A shakeup in the NHS is increasing the focus on delivering analytics and cloud solutions. As part of this processes, NHS Digital is helping to define new methods for collecting, accessing and analyzing patient data which could create a more flexible and agile workforce that puts patient safety at the fore, whilst saving costs associated with IT infrastructure. This comes as the need to modernize the NHS reaches a critical juncture, and the cloud could provide the lynchpin to orchestrate a new era for health services. This is welcomed news for technology providers like D&D who see the significant value for patient care and health service improvements.
Is your organisation looking to partner with a data analytics provider to deliver a cloud-enabled environment? Are you provisioning for the cloud? At D&D, we provide healthcare data insight, analytics and improvement for organisations looking to improve operational performance, deliver better SPC, and develop new business models. Some of D&D’s innovative solutions include;
- Cancer Care and Patient Access
- Patient Safety and Risk Analytics
- Emergency Department Patient Flow and ML
- Finance and Cost Management
- Readmissions
- Clinical Coding Insight and Opportunity Identifier
- Big Data Benchmarking
- And much more…
D&D has been delivering for private or NHS organisations around the globe as a trusted partner with innovative solutions. Joseph Frost, Head of Business Intelligence, Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust & Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, said “we have been working with D&D for the past 3 years and our relationship has grown from strength to strength, leveraging the D&D platform to drive innovations on Qlik and now the release of cancer analytics on PowerBI. We have also been working with the team on taking forward our cloud strategy with Azure. Salford Royal as a GDE site and as part of the larger Northern Care Alliance has always embraced a digital first strategy, and now more than ever we need to drive that innovation further through the wider care alliance group. As a group we generate more and more data and having the right partnerships with commercial providers like D&D Health and Microsoft are valuable in this journey.”
D&D’s advanced analytics on our instance of Microsoft Azure cloud services allows us to deliver best-in-class solutions for cost improvement, patient safety, real-time mobile analytics and much more. Our solutions can either be provided as a managed cloud offering to our partners or delivered as content into your instance of Microsoft Azure. Having delivered solutions across the globe, and with over 60+ satisfied clients, D&D continues to grow and deliver against its targets and looks forward to delivering against the goals of their clients.
For more information please visit www.draperanddash.com/request-a-demo
