In today's healthcare environment, "downtime" is a dreaded word. Whether it's due to an unexpected outage, a cyberattack or planned maintenance, any interruption in your health IT systems can severely impact hospital operations. For healthcare organizations, the stakes are high: the average cost of a one-hour EHR outage is approximately $1.7 million for a medium-sized hospital and for larger facilities that figure can jump to $3.2 million. Even more critical than the financial hit is the potential risk to patient safety. When systems are down, providers cannot access vital patient information, leading to delays in care, medication errors and increased workload as staff scramble to record notes manually -- only to later input them into the system once it is back online.
So, how do you tackle the root of the problem and minimize the effects of downtime? The answer lies in minimizing downtime itself. This might seem like a daunting task, but it is achievable with cloud hosting. Let's take a closer look at what cloud hosting is and how it can play a pivotal role in improving healthcare delivery.
What is cloud hosting?
Cloud hosting is the practice of making applications and websites available online through the cloud. Instead of relying on a single physical server, cloud hosting uses a network of virtual servers that are spread across various locations. These servers share resources, creating a dynamic, resilient environment where data and applications are stored across multiple locations.
How cloud hosting can reduce downtime
Cloud hosting offers a range of benefits that make it easier to keep your systems up and running, even when challenges arise. These benefits include:
Proactive monitoring and prevention
Cloud hosting solutions offer enhanced monitoring capabilities that enable IT teams to spot and address potential issues before they escalate into downtime. This proactive approach reduces the likelihood of unexpected outages.
Redundancy and failover support
One of the biggest advantages of cloud hosting is the ability to distribute resources globally. If a server in one location fails, others within the network can immediately step in to ensure continuous availability and service. This built-in redundancy means that a single server issue will not take down your entire system.
Robust security
Security is a top priority in healthcare, and cloud-hosting platforms like Microsoft Azure are designed with multiple layers of protection. Features like real-time AI-driven threat detection, continuous security assessments and automated alerts provide stronger defense against cyberattacks. These safeguards reduce the risk of a security breach causing prolonged downtime.
Seamless, automated updates
In a cloud environment, many updates are automated, allowing software patches, security enhancements and performance improvements to be deployed without any manual intervention. Cloud providers like Microsoft Azure regularly release updates that are automatically applied across the network, ensuring that your systems are always running the latest and most secure versions. This eliminates the need for lengthy, scheduled downtimes or the manual installation of updates.
Scalable infrastructure
The cloud's scalable infrastructure also plays a role in faster updates. In traditional settings, hardware limitations might slow down the update process, especially if you need to upgrade multiple servers or components. With cloud hosting, resources can be quickly scaled up to accommodate demanding updates or maintenance tasks, allowing them to be completed faster and more efficiently.
Centralized management and monitoring
Cloud platforms provide centralized management tools that enable IT teams to monitor and manage updates across the entire organization from a single dashboard. This visibility and control simplifies the process of scheduling, testing and deploying updates.
Reduced dependency on physical hardware
In traditional hosting environments, maintenance often involves dealing with physical servers, which can be time-consuming and require significant coordination. Hardware upgrades, replacements or repairs typically involve taking systems offline. However, with cloud hosting, the infrastructure is virtualized, removing the need for physical interventions. Maintenance tasks, such as expanding storage or boosting processing power, can be completed almost instantly without service disruption.
Elevating EHRs
By using cloud hosting, healthcare organizations can significantly reduce downtime, keep critical systems operational and ultimately focus more on delivering quality care. The financial savings are considerable, but the real win is in improved patient safety and operational efficiency. Cloud hosting is the next step forward for healthcare IT, enabling more reliable and resilient EHR systems.
Looking for a flexible EHR leveraging cloud-based technology? Learn more about Sunrise™, the alternative you need for the outcomes you want, here.