As cloud adoption rates increase, the pressure for health care IT departments to migrate to a cloud-based platform is growing more intense than ever
The average IT department in the U.S. is increasingly cloud-based. Most have grown from about half of their infrastructure in the cloud – in 2017 – to over 60% in the past year and a half. With this rate of adoption, it’s no surprise that all kinds of IT professionals are facing increasing pressure to migrate to cloud-based information technology platforms.
As a sector, health care organizations are no different – nearly 40% of IT departments in the category report management or business pressure to transition fully to the cloud. But unlike most other enterprises making the leap to cloud computing, health care providers, insurers, and pharmaceutical companies must concern themselves with some of the most daunting data protection and security challenges in the business world today.
A health care cloud must be a HIPAA-compliant cloud
When it comes to privacy concerns in the U.S., the health care space has in place among the most stringent protections. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) exists to protect the privacy of everyone’s medical records, now defined as “electronically protected health information (ePHI).”
This means the pressure is on for health care organizations of all types and sizes – from massive university teaching hospitals to a one-physician office on Main Street – to adhere to some of the strictest cybersecurity protocols ever devised. Needless to say, it needs to be done to the letter of the law as well as cost-effectively if these health care providers are going to survive.
Securing patient health information in the cloud begins with a secure migration
A secure health care cloud environment is mandatory for operating in accordance with HIPAA, and that begins with the cloud migration itself. Managed security controls shield protected health care data before introduction into the new cloud environment. This ensures that privileged health information is kept safe from compromise during the migration.
Once the data workloads are within the confines of the new cloud environment, the crucial work of continuously maintaining HIPAA-compliant governance begins. Protected health information must be stored, processed, maintained, distributed, and safeguarded every step of the way.
AWS helps drive health care innovation
Through technologies like Encryption as a Service (EaaS) and Identity and Access Management (IAM), the robust security-focused architecture provided by Amazon Web Services (AWS) is an ideal environment for data protection and access tracking. This secure environment aids provider efforts to efficiently deliver care to more engaged patients. Cloud-based HIPAA compliance helps facilitate better treatment outcomes through the flow of protected patient information to those who need it most, and who often require the data right now.
With the right support, even the most daunting tasks get done
CloudHesive is an experienced AWS managed-service provider with a lot of health care savvy. We make the complex and intricate task of providing authorized access to protected data unobtrusive and nearly invisible from the patient’s point of view.
Imagine a system that can recognize patients as they are checked into an emergency room. Automatically, the hospital accesses the patient’s medical history from a cloud-based database that proactively provides all of the patient’s health care providers a notification, putting them on standby to offer data relevant to the patient’s current condition. That kind of protected information flow can avoid an adverse reaction to common medication. It can also save lives.
This is the kind of peace of mind and timely access to care that HIPAA regulations were meant to enable.
Learn how CloudHesive can help make sure your organization is HIPAA-compliant
CloudHesive’s brain trust of cybersecurity professionals will develop a cloud security blueprint that will satisfy your specific data-protection concerns. You’ll be equipped to securely provide protected health information quickly to the providers that need it – all while ensuring your health care cloud environment is fully compliant with HIPAA regulations. Learn more by getting in touch with CloudHesive at 800-860-2040 or through our online contact form.
