AWS Cloud-Based EHR Solution
An Amazon Web Services powered cloud-based EHR system that can enhance security and business productivity
These days it seems like everyone’s talking about the cloud. It’s a much-touted solution to all sorts of tech problems (and for good reason). There are several cloud-based EMR solutions available to medical practices today, perhaps you’re pretty satisfied with your current on-premises EHR system. Why should you switch to the cloud?
Cloud-Based EHR Solutions Enhance Security and Compliance
Data security has never been more visible than it is today. The data security challenges in healthcare are greater thanks to unique regulations in this space, including HIPAA requirements. Self-managing your electronic health records and relying on on-premises systems and storage carries a high degree of risk.
Here’s a piercing question: How many full-time IT personnel does your medical organization employ? How many of those are dedicated to information security? If you’re a small practice, you may not have one full-time IT staffer.
Larger healthcare systems or multi-site practices will have some in-house IT capabilities, to be sure. But even there, how deep is the talent bench, and how confident can you be in your IT staff’s ability to keep EHR secure?
By turning to cloud-based EHR solutions, you greatly enhance your EHR security. By relying on Amazon Web Services, its massive scale, and IT resources, you’ll be using the latest, security protocols. Big-picture security concerns are no longer your problem: AWS takes care of them for you.
Here’s just a sampling of the security options available through AWS:
- Encrypted storage volumes
- Access control based on security groups
- Two-factor authentication (2FA)
IT costs can be high in any industry, and healthcare is no exception. In legacy models, medical practices pay per-device license fees on a wide range of software solutions. Hardware costs are the spikiest: you’re in for a big hit every few years, and a sudden server failure can cause a cash-flow burden.
Cloud-Based EHR Solutions Reduce and Normalize Costs
Moving to a cloud-based EHR solution will typically reduce costs. Large cloud vendors use the economy of scale to operate more efficiently than your organization can, and some savings get passed along to you. The other advantage of switching to cloud computing is that it brings costs down to a consistent monthly rate, leveling out the cost spikes.
Cloud Medical Software Increases Business Productivity
The security advantages alone are a compelling enough reason to consider cloud computing there are also numerous productivity gains to consider. Switching to cloud medical
software will quickly lead to increased productivity. Foremost among these are scalability, freedom from system management, software updates, and disaster recovery.
Top four top benefits of an AWS-powered cloud-based EHR solution
Scalability
When you handle your needs on-premises, scalability is hard. When you need more capacity, you have to procure new hardware from your hardware vendor (Dell, Lenovo, etc.). You have to physically install it in your data center, and then you have to configure that hardware. Start to finish, you’re looking at several weeks and thousands of dollars, minimum.
With cloud-based EHR solutions powered by AWS, scalability is near-instant. Your medical practice simply doesn’t have to worry about scalability anymore. Your cloud solution handles it all.
Freedom from System Management
Whether you’re a small practice or a large healthcare organization, downtime can be a crisis. Previously any kind of data or technology issue was a massive problem, one that tended to require a service call from a specialist. Until the specialist could arrive and fix your problem, you simply couldn’t use the affected systems.
Using cloud medical software changes the game completely. Everything is hosted in the cloud, so there are no servers or complex on-site systems to manage. You no longer have to worry about outages because the equipment belongs to Amazon Web Services.
Given their scale and resources, they can fix just about any failure or outage with impressive speed. In many cases, you’ll never even know there was a problem.
In short, switching to a cloud-based EHR solution frees your team from the burdens of server management. Your cloud partner takes care of it all. Your stability will improve, and you’ll lessen your reliance on in-house IT support.
Software Updates
Cloud Software updates don’t sound like a huge burden, but any IT staffer will tell you that they can take a lot of time. Additionally, they playback into the security concerns discussed above: one widespread method of cyberattack is exploiting older software and operating systems.
Moving your EHR system to the cloud may not completely eliminate software updates in your organization. However, it does lessen them and simplifies the process of rolling them out. When you’re using a cloud-based solution, you’re no longer responsible for server updates. All that’s left for you to maintain are your client systems (the desktops and laptops throughout your practice).
Disaster Recovery
Backup and disaster recovery solutions are critical for medical practices. Imagine the difficulties — not to mention fractured patient relationships — that would arise if your practice lost all electronic patient records.
Very likely, you have some form of backup system in place. But local backup systems alone don’t offer much protection from physical disasters. For this reason, local systems are often paired with off-site backups. Maintaining a quality backup solution that pairs on- and off-site backup is logistically complex, not to mention costly.
Here, too, the cloud offers an attractive alternative. By moving to the cloud, you gain impressive and robust backup and disaster recovery capability that’s once again managed by your cloud partner. You no longer have to devote the resources to it that you did before.
These four areas, scalability, freedom from system management, software updates, and disaster recovery are ways cloud can increase the overall productivity of your practice.
Don’t Believe the Hype, Switching EHR Is Rather Simple
Today is the day that changes. Here’s how to switch your EHR more seamlessly than you think.
Use these tips for a smoother process
PrognoCIS: A Cloud-Based EHR Tailored to Your Practice
As you look for AWS-powered cloud-based EHR solutions that can enhance security and business productivity, consider PrognoCIS. PrognoCIS streamlines your workflows using a range of proven modules, including Practice Management, Medical Billing, Revenue Cycle Management, Telemedicine, Patient Portal, e-prescription, and more.
PrognoCIS is built using the power of the cloud and has rich integrations in many specialties. It’s an experience tailor-made for medical practices, one that you can fully customize to meet your needs.
Let us show you how PrognoCIS can help you achieve better productivity using a Cloud-Based EHR Solution. Request a demo today!
