Importance of Cloud Computing and IoT in healthcare and Life Sciences
Covid-19! Do not even think for a moment that I’m selling this word; instead,
just mentioning it so that this blog post becomes worth reading for you.
This pandemic has shown the world and human civilization what could go wrong
if healthcare systems are not supported the way they should be. And, yes, it
takes a billion dollars, but things can be on our side if the right
technologies and strategies are implemented.
For example , the use of cloud computing in healthcare. Before the
pandemic, industries, governments, and tech giants were a little skeptical
about pushing the IoT and cloud computing, but since the beginning of the
Covid-19, their use has been skyrocketing.
The healthcare systems are now availing the perks of an increase in cloud-
based systems that improve privacy, lower expenses, and provide better patient
care via collaboration and remote operations.
According to a recent survey, cloud technology is on its way to becoming the
most wanted technology ever, and its market will reach $71,730.64 million by
2027 , with a CAGR of 14.12 % between 2022 and 2027.
Thus, it is a clear indication that healthcare organizations are following the
lead in accepting new technologies and spending more on tech growth so that
it’s easy to save people’s lives and help them save money.
This article is about cloud computing and IoT and their worldwide importance
to the healthcare system. You’ll also learn how it is helpful for healthcare
institutions.
Let’s jump in to learn what cloud computing is.
But before that, scroll down and explore what you’re exposed to read:
- What is cloud computing?
- What is the internet of things (IoT)?
- Challenges healthcare companies to face
- Cloud computing and healthcare
- Top advantages of implementing cloud computing in healthcare
- Use of IoT in the healthcare industry & Life Sciences
- Application examples: healthcare companies are using the cloud and IoT
What is Cloud Computing?
The simple and easy-to-understand definition of cloud computing is “using an
on-the-go computer/servers to fulfill all your requirements/business needs.”
Instead of using many computer systems and hardware for streaming videos,
storing and accessing data, releasing software, processing information, etc.,
Computer scientists established data centers
.
These data centers allow all other internet access devices to get things done
more efficiently and quickly.
What is the internet of things (IoT)?
Have you ever wondered about connecting all electronics to the Internet,
operating it right through your fingertips, or saying something similar to –
Hey Alexa, play my favorite song!
Well! The Internet of things (IoT) is for that only. Sounds familiar, right?
IoT is the network of physical objects. These objects are things embedded with
sensors, software, and other technologies for connecting and exchanging
data/info with other electronic devices and systems via the Internet.
These electronic devices range from ordinary household objects to extremely
sophisticated industrial tools.
Today, more than 7 billion devices are working on IoT technology. Experts say
this number will reach 10 billion by 2020 and 22 billion by 2025.
Challenges Healthcare Companies Face
A vast amount of data is roaming around in the healthcare industry, and
it needs to be tackled efficiently. Healthcare companies’ main challenge is securing, accessing, and optimizing this data.
Though there are other concerns too –
Huge Cost
Medical organizations like Drug Houses, Hospitals, pharmacies, Forensic labs,
Clinics, Medical schools, and Labs store and process a lot of data from
various electronic devices, mainly computers, mobile phones, and other data-
generating electronics such as MRI machines, etc. And to provide constant
maintenance and value services don’t come cheap.
Cloud computing apps/software applications can take the load off healthcare
and offer much-needed space to scale up.
Today, a few cloud-computing service providers, such as – AWS and Azure, offer
over 160 services in cloud computing. These models are famous for the pay-as-
you-go model, giving organizations the vast flexibility they require.
It makes all operations more accessible and saves the healthcare
companies/organizations significant funds helps reduce costs involved in
providing services, enhancing equipment for diagnosis, etc.
A recent report from Thomson Reuters shows a wastage of $6000-850 billion
annually in the US healthcare system alone. The credit goes to -
administrative inefficiency and unnecessary treatments. These are the problems
that cloud computing technology can quickly solve.
Accessibility
Healthcare is a susceptible industry involving a very complex system.
For instance you know well that one or more physician or team works on
one patient. Providing up-to-date information/patient data with no additional
communication setup is complicated and requires enormous resources.
With cloud services, you have the feasibility to update data in real time.
Moreover, each specialist can access and update it if allowed permission.
Cloud computing dramatically makes things easier for medical specialists and
patients. It will help patients view and monitor changes in their
prescriptions and online appointments without thinking about going to the
nearby hospital.
Security
Most of the time, hardware resources fail to secure the data since there are
breakdowns and organizations can lose data with no chance to restore it. And
when you lose data like lab tests, medical history, diagnostics, billing
records, and more, the organization will be irreparably damaged, and people
will avoid connecting with your health initiatives.
But with cloud-based services, the service provider assures you of backups
because servers are located at multiple geographical locations, providing
utmost security for data, even in natural disasters or similar events. And it
is the primary reason cloud services providers emphasize the advantages of
cloud computing in healthcare.
The cloud offers better security than on-premises systems. It’s loaded with
different security metrics like IDS/IPS, firewalls, end-to-end encryption,
etc. Implementing these things will keep healthcare data safe.
Cloud computing and healthcare
Any technology implementation without risk Cloud computing has implications
but has more benefits than drawbacks. And the healthcare industry needs
support to process the gazillions of data annually.
Thus, cloud computing in healthcare concerns the application and use of remote
servers (via the Internet) to help healthcare institutions store, handle, and
process medical information accurately and efficiently.
In general, IT experts maintain information storage servers. And since Cloud
storage is convenient for healthcare professionals and medical institutions,
online servers play a crucial role in securely storing millions of GB of data.
Medical companies embrace cloud-based solutions to securely store patient
records with the EMR (Electronic Medical Records) Mandate in the market.
Moreover, healthcare organizations with no plans to implement cloud-based
solutions or restoration points also adopted cloud-based services to deal with
the vast amount of data.
Top Advantages of Implementing Cloud Computing in Healthcare
While a few in the tech industry remain skeptical about privacy concerns for
the ultra-sensitive information available to internet users using cloud
computing technology, it has many advantages and potential benefits that are
hard to ignore — hence the escalating adoption rate.
The benefits of adopting the cloud technology are –
Collaboration
Sharing is caring is also true for healthcare. It’s about caring for the
patients. With cloud computing, data sharing facilitates collaboration. And
it’s now easier to share real-time information confidentially among healthcare
parties.
Not only can healthcare institutions share data on medical records, but they
can also remotely access it anytime, anywhere. Cloud has emerged as the
perfect companion for healthcare professionals.
Security Concern
For an organization, security is the primary concern, and healthcare data has
to be remained confidential. Gigabytes of data are always prone to malicious
actors, resulting in various security breaches. But there’s no need to worry
about security issues if you’re opting for the cloud network since it ensures
the safety and has specific security tools to inform you about suspicious
attempts.
Could service providers like AWS and Azure act as data repository houses and
are more cautious in complying with the privacy protocols such as HIPAA
and GDPR by providing additional safeguards like network fireball,
customer-controlled encryption, and more. It makes the clout technology the
safest and most reliable option for data-related needs in healthcare and
institutions related to life sciences.
Costs involved
Healthcare organizations shifting to cloud technology will be very cost-
efficient since it can hold vast information at meager investments. The basic
principle upon which cloud computing works is – the pay-as-you-go and
subscription model. That is, pay only for those services that you avail.
Speed
The rate at which technology solves problems for you matters. With minimal
interventions, cloud-based tools can update and upgrade their features
rapidly. You can have real-time relevant updates when needed.
One of the many features of cloud computing is speed and faster access to
information. And in healthcare, it paves a way to overcome the stumbling
blocks that the patients and industry stakeholders face. Cloud computing is
helping enormously in modifying clinical research, clinical trial management,
and knowledge sharing at par.
Flexibility and Scalability
Healthcare organizations are known for their dynamic operations. Cloud
computing provides hassle-free flexibility and scalability, which helps in
ultimate decision-making. Healthcare organizations can use cloud technology to
regulate their data storage needs.
Thus, shifting to the cloud reduces risks and minimizes the chances of
downtime strengthens security practices, prevents data leaks, and improves
data handling.
Use of IoT in the healthcare industry and Life Sciences
IoT is all about connecting electronic and internet-accessible devices to
provide patient care via real-time health monitoring by allowing access to
patients’ health data.
The data generated through electronic-medical devices (like glucometer, heart
rate monitoring cuffs, etc.) is a goldmine for healthcare stakeholders and
help improve patients’ health and experiences while creating revenue
opportunities and improving healthcare operations.
Let’s learn the use of IoT in the healthcare system.
You can build IoT in two ways:
- Make a separate system/network of only physical objects. It is cost-efficient.
- Use hard-core technologies like cloud computing and ample data storage. It is pretty expensive, and only significantly big organizations can afford it.
Use of IoT in the healthcare industry and life sciences:
IoT for Patients
IoT is completely changing our lifestyle by providing people a quick response
to their problems using gadgets such as Wearables. Wearable devices like
fitness bands and other wirelessly connected devices offer patients access to
modified attention.
You can tune the IoT devices to remind patients about their exercise check,
heartbeat rate, calorie count, blood pressure variations, and more. It helps
healthcare professionals to provide treatment in time.
Hence, IoT is helping to increase our lifespan.
IoT for Physicians
Different IoT equipment such as home monitoring and other wearable devices
make it easy for physicians to handle any medical situation of their patients
and provide the best care. On the other hand, it has put specialists on alert
to be more careful and contact their patients to keep tracking their health
and health services.
IoT for Hospitals
Merely monitoring patients’ health is not the only application of IoT;
instead, it’s finding its use in many other areas. IoT devices integrated with
sensors can track the real-time locations of medical equipment like oxygen
pumps, wheelchairs, nebulizers, defibrillators, and others.
IoT is also helping to reduce the spread of infections in hospitals that
majorly concerns the patients. IoT-enabled devices are also helping in asset
management such as environmental monitoring, pharmacy inventory control,
checking refrigerator temperature and its condition, humidity level in the ER,
and temperature control for various other types of equipment.
IoT for Health Insurance Companies
Health insurance is a significant concern for people in the United States, EU,
India, Canada, UK, Australia, and other countries.
IoT-enabled electronic devices can intelligently help insurance companies
influence data captured through various health monitoring devices in case of
underwriting and claims operations. As a result, health insurance providers
can quickly detect fraud claims and identify prospects for copywriting.
It also helps customers with appropriate visibility into deciding and outcomes
of the processes involved.
Benefits of IoT to the healthcare industry and life sciences:
Efficient reporting and supervision
IoT makes it possible to supervise real-time reporting, helping save people’s
lives in medical emergencies like asthma attacks, heart failures, etc.
Healthcare mobility solutions can efficiently operate with IoT to maintain
patient care workflow, providing interoperability, machine-to-machine
communication, and data movement and information exchange. It’s all making
healthcare delivery more productive.
With IoT-enabled devices and different connectivity software, hospital
personnel can spot early signs of illness in patients.
Data Analysis
It’s easy to provide real-time support if you can have relevant data in a
short time. IoT can do it, hence eliminating the need for its storage. IoT
will revolutionize the healthcare world by speeding up and allowing doctors to
provide accurate and in-time consultations for their patients.
Alerts and Tracking
Many people lose their lives because of the lack of in-time reporting related
to critical life-threatening circumstances. IoT lets people know their medical
condition in advance and helps them decide whether it’s time to make an
appointment with a doctor!
Application examples: healthcare companies are using cloud technology and IoT
Below is the list of several companies helping hospitals and other healthcare
organizations to streamline their operations and improve patient care using
the cloud technology:
Net App
It is a hybrid cloud data services company helping healthcare management
platforms. It delivers clinical data in real-time to accelerate operations
faster and enhance overall efficiency through the quicker backup, reduced EHR
latency, restoration, and easy ways of storing data.
Medsphere
This cloud-based IT solution helps healthcare institutions, including
clinical, financial, accounting, nursing, and many others.
Pfizer
This company is a leader in pharmaceutical and biotech products. It has been
utilizing cloud services since 2016. And it’s been in the spotlight in
developing a COVID-19 vaccine in partnership with BioNTech.
The list is long!! But these are a few world-famous examples for your
reference.
Conclusion
IoT, as well as cloud computing, is playing a crucial role in making people’s
lives easy. And helping the world healthcare system stand up to perform its
duty – care for the people!!
By introducing IoT and cloud in the healthcare system
, the treatment level
would be best, cost-efficient, and convenient for patients and doctors.
