There's something big happening in the healthcare industry, and it seems there is a silver lining to this cloud. Studies say that security, regulatory and privacy concerns might get in the way of cloud computing in the healthcare industry, although this sector is set to grow in the medium term. Cloud computing in healthcare is projected to grow to US$ 5.4 billion by 2017.

Modernization in the healthcare system is going beyond Electronic Healthcare Records (EHR). According to research firm MarketsandMarkets, the use of cloud computing in healthcare will span both clinical and non-clinical applications. Apart from EHR, cloud computing will also apply to other clinical uses, such as physician order entry and software imaging and pharmacy use. Non-clinical uses will likewise benefit, including management apps for patient billing, claims and revenue cycle management.
According to MarketsandMarkets, the use of cloud computing in healthcare will be greatly beneficial in sharing EHR data across facilities in different geographic locations. Using cloud applications will ensure that patients get treated on time, regardless of location and facility.
According to a 2011 study by KLAS Research, 55 percent of hospital executives interviewed said they stored data on the cloud. This included applications like clinical software and email. 71 percent of healthcare providers already deploy, or are planning to deploy, cloud-technology services. However, there is doubt among healthcare providers what cloud computing actually entails, and how it can be effectively used in the industry.
In 2011, 4 percent of the health care industry used cloud computing, but that number will jump to 20.5 percent a year, according to the July 2 report.
The company studied the health care IT cloud market for the period 2012-2017.
In the health care cloud market, no cloud provider holds more than a 5 percent share, according to the report. Health care cloud vendors include Agfa Healthcare, CareCloud, Dell, GE Healthcare and Merge Healthcare.
MarketsandMarkets divided the health care industry into clinical and nonclinical cloud use. Clinical applications consist of EHRs, physician order entry and software for imaging and pharmacy use, while nonclinical applications include revenue cycle management, patient billing and claims management.
Attempting to share EHRs among facilities in various geographic areas without the benefits of cloud storage could delay treatment of patients, according to MarketsandMarkets.
"The flip side of this advantage is that health care data has specific requirements such as security, confidentiality, availability to authorized users, traceability of access, reversibility of data and long-term preservation," the report stated.
Regulations such as the electronic health record guidelines on meaningful use and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) impeded health care adoption of public cloud systems, which are hosted by third parties, according to the report.
A December 2011 survey by KLAS Research found that 55 percent of hospital executives interviewed had stored data in the cloud, according to FierceHealthIT. This data included clinical applications and email.
Cloud computing has become necessary in health care with the need to store radiology images in archiving and communication systems (PACS), Chris Witt, president and co-founder of Wake Technology Services, told eWEEK in a 2011 interview.
In addition, 71 percent of health care providers were deploying or planned to deploy cloud technology, KLAS reported. Despite this large percentage, many health care providers were uncertain what cloud computing is and how it can be used in health care, according to KLAS.
Health care organizations turn to cloud computing to save on the costs of storing hardware locally. The cloud holds big data sets for EHRs, radiology images and genomic data for clinical drug trials.