Expert perspectives

Kevin Erdal

Managing Director and Global Practice Leader, Digital Health, Nordic

How can the cloud enable more patient-centered care?

The use of cloud technology throughout hospitals and health systems has significantly enhanced patient engagement and allowed for new ways of thinking about the patient and clinician experience. Fostering the cloud’s capabilities to make care more convenient and connected is a strategic trend among many leaders who wish to prioritize patient-centered care from start to finish across the continuum.

Patient-centered care is a core objective for many healthcare leaders. Cloud-based solutions offer secure and accessible platforms for storing and managing patient information, enabling healthcare providers to streamline communication and collaboration. Patients can easily access their medical records, test results, and other relevant information through secure cloud portals, creating transparency and empowering them to take a more active role in their healthcare journey.

Additionally, cloud-based applications facilitate real-time interaction between patients and healthcare professionals, allowing for virtual consultations, remote monitoring, and timely communication. This not only improves the overall patient experience, but also contributes to more informed decision-making and personalized care plans, ultimately leading to better health outcomes.

Saran Sonaisamy

Managing Director, Cloud and Enterprise Platform Solutions Practice Lead, Nordic

Can cloud solutions empower financial resilience in healthcare?

Cloud integrates between systems, applications, software, environments, and organizations. IT leaders who shift their integration approaches towards cloud-based solutions have the potential to accelerate better outcomes. This is evident through budgeting controls, helping organizations avoid the upfront costs and complexities of owning and maintaining an on-premises IT infrastructure.

Cloud-based financial management systems enable collaboration among different departments within a hospital. Authorized personnel can access financial data remotely, fostering better communication and coordination. This works due to a naturally integrated workflow in the cloud that is not readily available on-premises. The workflow centers on tagging, essentially a ‘used by label’ that tracks servers and data to those specific personnel.

This shift towards predictable operating expenses enables better process efficiency as well as productivity. Cloud-based systems often come with automation that streamlines various financial processes such as invoicing, payroll, and expense tracking. Budgeting and cost control features have significantly advanced, empowering all enterprise leadership to get a complete view and control around their financial operations (FinOps). This benchmarks a new financial and operational efficiency that harnesses both short-term and long-term ROI tracking.

Jason Griffin

Managing Director, Digital Health Strategy and Cybersecurity, Nordic

Can the cloud support a more secure, agile future?

Cloud technology significantly contributes to IT governance in healthcare by providing a flexible and scalable infrastructure that supports various aspects of governance, risk management, and compliance. This opens the door for true modernization of the IT environment, making space for a technology foundation that is future ready. The cloud can enable providers to focus on delivering quality care while ensuring that IT systems adhere to the necessary security frameworks and regulations.

IT leaders must acknowledge the delicate balance between innovation and the imperative to uphold patient confidentiality and data integrity. It’s essential to set up and enforce robust security controls to safeguard patient data stored in the cloud, ensuring compliance with healthcare regulations such as HIPAA/HITECH, and addressing the potential risks associated with third-party cloud service providers.

Cloud environments are dynamic, with resources being provisioned and de-provisioned based on demand. Policies must adapt to these changes, ensuring access controls and data protection measures remain effective. Vendor management is also a critical aspect of security in a hospital using cloud services. Managing relationships with vendors, understanding their security practices, and ensuring contractual agreements align with the hospital's governance and compliance requirements can be demanding. A cloud-based system can help centralize vendor information and offer real-time insights into performance, spend, and compliance.