Showing posts with label cloud. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cloud. Show all posts

Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Data Security and Backup Solutions in Health Care

2:14 PM Nrip Nihalani

Data security is like exercise: Everyone knows it's good. Few people care enough to do it…
Which is why it is important, to have the right strategy, and the right tools. 

Computers, Keyboards, Mice and Even Hard drives fail. It's a fact of computing life. It's not a question of whether your computer will stop working or even a matter of when. The question is how much it will disrupt your life, your processes, your practice and your patients - and it won't, if you have a backup copy. 

Backing up your data is most indispensable thing you do on your computer. The 2 important considerations one must have when deciding a backup strategy are the backup media and the backup tools.  

Local Backup Media: 

Using CD/DVD’s to store data backups 

Using CD/DVD’s to store data backups is popular. Blank CD/DVD’s are inexpensive, and copying data onto CD/DVD’s is easy. Unfortunately CD/DVD’s, like the floppy disks they've replaced, have a limited shelf life. We don’t recommend this method of data backup for any practice. 

Using tapes to store data backups 

Tape backups are a many times more reliable than DVDss, but tape drives and their associated media are many times more expensive than DVD writers and CD/DVDs. A good tape drive can cost over $1000, and individual tapes for the drive can cost up to $40 each. If one can afford the equipment, however, tape backup is far more reliable and recommended backup method. 

Using external hard drives to store data backups 

External hard disks are cheap compared to tape drive systems. They’re also easy to use as most of them support plug and play use with the computers USB port. And while hard drives do fail, their failure rate is much lower than that of other backup media such as DVD’s. A big factor to why we recommend External Hard Disks as the best Local backup medium is that a single hard disk drive or a maximum of 2 used for backups may well be enough to store your practice data. 

Online Backup in the Cloud: 

An online backup service offers the advantage of securely store your files at off-site server locations, so that your data stays intact and available even if your local disks, CD/DVD’s are corrupted or in a severe case stolen. 

With more and more emphasis on "cloud computing", it only makes sense that one should take advantage of this hot trend in technology for backups.

Factors to consider when choosing an online backup service: 
Does it upload new and changed files immediately? 
Does it allow syncing or sharing of data? 
Can it back up files while you have them open? 
Is there a Web client for restoring? 
Is there a mobile client? 
Does it offer a remote control feature via my mobile phone? 
Can I view my backed up files on an iPad? 
How much will it cost? 
Is it HIPAA Compliant? 

Limitations: 

The advantages of Online Backup solutions can be limited due to bandwidth problems. 

Secondly, the method is only as reliable as the company offering the online backup service. 

Thirdly, one should ensure that HIPAA requirements are met by the vendor who is offering the Online Backup Service 

 
If you'd like to know more about TechnicalDr's flexible and powerful HIPAA Compliant Backup Solution  please check the website http://www.technicaldr.com/tdr/hipaa-compliant-backup or Call 630 433 7453 for a Super Offer - Waiver on Setup and Training Costs

Saturday, September 17, 2011

Cloud Computing in Healthcare

5:16 PM Nrip Nihalani

This article aims to discuss aspects of cloud computing that are relevant to the healthcare industry and can be applied by doctors to improve their practice.

What Should Doctors Know About Cloud Computing?

There is a sea of information available on the internet about cloud computing and how it works. As a doctor with limited interest in information technology, understanding all that jargon (most of which may not even be directly related to your work and computing requirements) can be quite intimidating and time consuming.

Simply put, the cloud is a set of hardware, networks, storage, services and interfaces that are equipped to provide computing power, infrastructure, applications, software, business processes and storage – in short, all your computing needs, as a service wherever and whenever you need it.

Migrating to the cloud 'can' help you reduce cost, space, time and power that would otherwise be utilized for traditional IT services performing the same functions. This is possible because the cloud puts together a large pool of computing resources available to be used as an assured service by anyone who wishes to use it, anywhere in the world. Traditional IT environments on the other hand, have a limited set of resources that are independently managed and delivered to a limited number of people confined to a certain geographic location, thus pushing cost, time, space and power factors.

Using Cloud Computing To Improve Your Practice

Cloud computing can transform the way healthcare is practiced by empowering professionals to deliver better care at lower costs. Cloud computing allows doctors, researchers and scientists across the globe to collaborate and form a centralized, integrated and regularly updated medical database that can be seamlessly accessed by healthcare professionals without having to invest in over-the-top infrastructure or software. Doctors can use the cloud for viewing reports, scans, EMRs, prescriptions and information required to solve complex medical problems anywhere in the world.

Patients’ health data and EMRs can be combined to form a single, comprehensive health record that can be instantly accessed from one single source. The cloud also brings together patient information like insurance claims, prescription and drug details, lab reports, patient history and progress in cases of chronic illnesses and other details and consolidates them to be available at the point of care whenever required.

This not only helps improve the level of accuracy with which care is delivered but also reduces the time and cost of treatment for physicians and patients alike. As all data is sourced from a single, homogenous center, it also brings down the possibility of conflicting treatments, prescriptions and medical data miscommunication in cases where multiple physicians and providers are involved.

Cloud computing is typically subscription based. In many cases, it works on a metered billing model of payment where you pay only for what you use. It also allows for flexible self-service by which you can enable and disable the provision of required services depending on your usage and needs.

Cloud computing users need not invest in heavy capital expenditure on hardware, software, and services. As resources can be unsubscribed whenever required, the risk of investment is considerably reduced. The cloud also addresses increased data storage needs of physicians without having them spend on expensive personal storage devices. Software updates and innovation are centrally managed by cloud service providers, helping doctors focus the best part of their day on patient care.

Cloud computing can thus help physicians meet meaningful use criteria as it demonstrates better quality of care, lower costs and higher insurance/government reimbursements.

Popular Cloud Services

Most of us have “been on the cloud” without even knowing about it (eg: Facebook is an example of a public cloud). Depending on the visibility of data there are three types of cloud platforms: Public, private and hybrid (a combination of public and private).

A more popular classification is based on the services offered:


1. Infrastructure as a service (IaaS) offers hardware related services like disk storage, database or virtual servers. Amazon Web Services (AWS),Rackspace Cloud Servers and Flexiscale are popular IaaS providers.

2. Platform as a Service (PaaS) offers development platforms. Google’s Application Engine, Microsofts Azure, Salesforce.com’s force.com are well-knows in this category.

3. Software as service (SaaS) involves software services on the cloud like web based software applications, email services and so on. Popular examples of SaaS services are Salesforce.com (CRM), Google’s Gmail, Google Apps, Dropbox, Zoho, QuickBooks, Piwik, Microsoft Hotmail and their online version of office called BPOS (Business Productivity Online Standard Suite).

A good read on top cloud platforms at http://www.liventerprise.com/news/3608/.

Cloud Security

Cloud security and data ownership is a major concern for users and new adopters of cloud computing. As there is very little regulation currently pertaining to cloud computing, there are many data privacy and security issues to be dealt with. New users must be informed about details on who owns the data, third parties that may gain access to the data and the jurisdiction of the contract. We will look at Cloud Security in detail via a separate article.

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