Patient safety is, of course, an ongoing concern in hospitals and clinics that can be addressed through better processes and technological solutions. The healthcare environment is constantly shifting in order to accommodate these new advances. The changes are leading to greater speed and efficiency throughout the organization, but the wellbeing of the patient still has to come first.

This means that, no matter how fast the clinic can eventually process new patients, it must still be able to accurately perform diagnoses, keep perfect records, and ensure that the appropriate treatment is administered at the right time. These are critical elements of providing effective healthcare, and some of the options available through cloud computing is making it possible.

Clinical cloud computing could be said to improve patient safety in one simple way: Faster technology means faster responses and treatments in critical situations. Of course, the benefits and processes go much deeper than that, but this is a good place to start. If, for example, a caregiver has to wait to use certain applications at an end-point, it can significantly delay treatment and cause other problems. Cloud technology has made it possible to access the necessary apps and data from any device, and with a single sign-on, which can reduce some of the time-consuming activities that would otherwise hinder more effective treatments.

IT infrastructure focused on patient safety

The cloud is making inroads into hospitals, clinics, biotech firms, and more. In each of these cases, there are many ways that an IT infrastructure based in cloud technology can improve the level of care and safety that those organizations can offer.

Every patient has different needs, and if the clinic is dealing with a large number of people, things can get lost, details forgotten and diagnoses rushed. Doctors have to gather and share a lot of information -- sometimes within the building, sometimes over huge geographical areas -- which can also potentially create delays that hinder treatments. The right IT infrastructure should be able to address all these concerns by tracking the needs of each patient, even in an environment where such a thing would normally be extremely complex.

Benefits for healthcare providers

Cloud computing solutions can potentially limit the amount of time that doctors and nurses spend searching for open end-points and time spent accessing and re-accessing different applications. With a single sign-on, authentication is much easier, even at different end-points and across multiple applications. This can lead to faster, more secure access to important patient data.

Basically, moving the IT infrastructure into the cloud can create opportunities for healthcare providers to spend more time delivering effective care and less time managing client systems.

Benefits for patients

It has already been mentioned that faster responses to problems is the most directly beneficial aspect for the patient, but it goes even further than that. Cloud solutions can offer the power to perform clinical data analysis at a fast and more cost-effective rate than ever before. This can be extremely beneficial for patients who require some serious tests.

Previously, it would have taken days, weeks, or even months to complete certain blood tests, run RNA sequences, protein folding, or other procedures. Patients had to wait an indeterminably long time to “get results back from the lab,” which could lead to added stress, confusion and frustration. By taking advantage of cloud capabilities, this time can be significantly shortened and the treatment process accelerated.

What has changed that makes the cloud so important in healthcare?

One of the biggest developments that have impacted IT departments throughout the healthcare environment is the move to electronic health records. This has been a long time in coming, and the goal has been to take some of the traditional, legacy systems and replace them with a more convenient and reliable processes. This change has taken a lot of time, but the potential improvements to patient care and treatment have also been rather large.

As data is collected for these records, it can be transferred directly to the cloud, eliminating the potential for it to get lost somewhere between point A and point B. In some situations, it may even be possible to send information directly from monitoring systems and other sensors, so there’s no chance for user error to creep into the process at all. The cloud can store, process, and distribute that information as needed.

Electronic medical records are just the start, though. Eventually, cloud applications could impact communication systems, laboratory information systems, pharmacy systems, physician order entry and other elements of patient care. The more effectively these processes can be integrated with other applications and procedures in the hospital or clinic, the better care each patient will receive.