Three Reasons to Consider the Cloud

Healthcare enterprises have seen a massive increase in the volume and variety of image content being stored across their facilities. While radiology and cardiology still generate the vast majority of content, dozens of specialty departments have also started to rely on imaging for comprehensive, high-quality care delivery. Think of a speech pathologist capturing a video during an endoscopic evaluation, a surgeon relying on 3D reconstruction images for surgical planning, or a dermatologist taking a picture of a patient’s skin lesion before a biopsy.

If you’re like most enterprises, you’re most likely still navigating how to achieve a comprehensive enterprise imaging strategy – one that supports this surge of image content across departments and brings the complete patient health picture together for your facility (As a side note, a VNA is a great place to start with this – you can read more on that here). But what about storage capacity? If enterprises are seeing an increasing number of departments use a variety of imaging devices to capture content in a range of file formats – some of which can surpass gigabytes of data – how can they keep pace with the associated storage requirements, all while keeping data safe and not breaking the bank?

If this sounds familiar, trust me, you’re not alone. At FMSU, we consistently hear this from our customers. Thankfully, there’s a solution that can achieve your specific data storage and security needs, all while alleviating traditional costs and infrastructure inefficiencies. Below are three reasons why the time is now for your enterprise to consider the cloud:

1. Storage expansion, on-demand: Most enterprises are accustomed to buying additional storage whenever their existing capacity has been reached. As image volumes continue to increase, those upgrades can quickly become frequent and expensive. Instead, consider simply “growing your data into the cloud.” Cloud-based services are ideal for care facilities that have growing image generation and access demands (99 percent of hospitals during COVID-19). As storage and usage needs increase, you can easily scale your cloud capacity to meet your specific requirements without large, upfront capital purchases.
2. Cost-consistencies and savings: Cloud services models, like those offered by FMSU, typically operate on a per study/month pricing model. This can help enterprises know their costs upfront and avoid unexpected expenses during heavy-volume times of the year. For smaller enterprises, that means consistent expenses that align with your IT budget. For larger enterprises, that can also result in greater flexibility and reduced costs – particularly for those that are growing at a really rapid pace.
3. Disaster recovery assurance: Let’s face it, unexpected events and malicious actors are constant data threats, even in an industry as sound as healthcare. Thankfully, most cloud service offerings include a disaster recovery program to keep your business moving, even when your world has stopped. Frequent backups to or within the cloud ensure the ability to restore information to the local data center or cloud provider, allowing enterprises to quickly resume normal business operations in the event of a disaster or external attack. At FMSU, some of our disaster recovery services include backup and recovery solutions, data protection and security schemes, and continuous system monitoring.

If you’re looking to expand your data storage, all while keeping PHI protected, optimizing efficiency, and reducing overall cost, the cloud may be for you. Check out FMSU’s Synapse^® Cloud Services eBrochure  to learn about our three cloud services delivery models that are uniquely designed to meet the evolving needs of today’s healthcare enterprises, or contact one of our cloud specialists for more information.