Dispelling the fantasy

We are living in an increasingly digital world and the speed of technological change means that healthcare providers often struggle to keep. Moving to the cloud is a solution that offers distinctive benefits, but at the same time introducing additional risks.

Yes, the future is mobile. And increasingly medical and other healthcare practices are feeling inclined to follow the trend: the flexibility  of being able to control their businesses from the palm of their hand.

Moving to the cloud comes with a fair amount of uncertainty. Concerns regarding malware, compliance and security are probably the first on the list but are not the only point of hesitation.

Lack of internet access, hardware failures, the fear of downtime, the loss of important data are all reasons why there is apprehension to cloud migration.

There are indeed those healthcare practices that have taken the leap and moved to the cloud, albeit settling for software with reduced feature set.

Yes, web based software in general, does not have the rich feature set that pedigreed desktop software such as Medinol has.

Web based medical billing software does sacrifice quite a lot compared to desktop software because it has to be downloaded from the web as it is needed.

Desktop medical billing software, on the other hand, resides on the local computer, which results in a lot faster and responsive user experience.

In a recent study 65% of business executives said that moving to the cloud has freed up IT resources to work on more strategic tasks and 64% added that these initiatives were implemented faster.

Despite increased efficiency, there are few myths being touted as to why moving your practice to the cloud is an option that should be considered as superior.

1. Does it really save you money
For practical purposes most cloud providers are located locally. They use the best hardware, software and skills. Data centres are also required to adhere to a variety of audits and industry standards. But because they are faceless, and often time their locale is not disclosed, can you really trust them to their commitment?

2. Does it provide access to world class infrastructure and skills

For practical purposes most cloud providers are located locally. They use the best hardware, software and skills. Data centres are also required to adhere to a variety of audits and industry standards. But because they are faceless, and often time their locale is not disclosed, can you really trust them to their commitment?

3. Up-to-date security and software

In the cloud, a specialist will take care of the security for you and every time you connect – you will hopefully have access to the latest version of applications. This is largely beyond your control, so you really need to be able to trust your cloud provider.

4. Data back-up – all taken care of

Hard drives packed with patient data lost to theft or fire is no longer a worry. A good cloud application will keep your data backed up to the last 24 hours without any need for special action from your side. Of course, you will still need to be concerned if your local computer equipment is at risk, but still, the reequirements are less onerous.

5. Productivity boost

Cloud provides a potential productivity increase of up to 400% says cloud providers as they tout their services. They seem to omit mentioning forget that there is still a cost involved in maintaining the connecting computer equipment.

So in summary, while there are distinct advantages in moviong your medical practice to the cloud, there are still very distinct advantages of running both the business and clinical sides of your practice on a local basis. The risks are still too big to migrate to web basedmedical billing software.