In 1997, first-time ‘cloud computing’ was used as a term by Professor Ramnath Chellappa (Hsu¹, Wang and Shieh, 2010) and after that in 1999, firstly, salesforce.com delivered the software and applications based on cloud computing (T Ograph and Morgens, 2008). In 2002, Amazon introduced advanced cloud services along with web services for its customers and in 2006, introduced Elastic Compute cloud (EC2), which allowed numerous organizations to run their software and applications online (Armbrust, et al., 2010). In 2008, Google and Microsoft dove into the cloud computing field as well and worked hard to introduce advanced cloud technology and services. According to IEEE, in 2014 the revenue is $152 billion for cloud services that are offered by different companies (Velazquez, 2012). According to National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the cloud computing empowered us with on-demand network access to various online computing resources based on a shared pool configuration including networks, servers, storage and applications. Cloud computing has changed the way in which the IT is utilized in our day-to-day routine and for a lifetime as well (Mell, and Grance, 2011).
A few years back, eHealth was assumed as an additional expenditure in healthcare industry instead of a fruitful investment. However, now, eHealth has been coming up to the topmost of the agenda both in private healthcare sector and public healthcare administration bodies, which have driven the expansion of eHealth. Nowadays, there is a steady enhancement in study focus and financial support to revolutionize existing poor healthcare systems by empowering it with cloud computing and to deliver cost effective and reliable eHealth services to the masses. Consequently, today we are facing a significant high-tech revival of the healthcare industry, which was dependent on manual records and at the present, it is growing at a phenomenal rate (Michalas and Dowsley, 2015).
Most of the healthcare related cloud computing managers are enthusiastic by the facilitations, which the cloud computing provides, including dive into the infrastructure management, the reduction in the cost and especially the promptness. Since 2008, there is a major increase in the usage of the cloud computing model because it offers all the solutions and benefits that are substantial. On the other hand, the cloud computing is developing and evolving day by day both certainty and actuality, but there are also some challenges and issues, including security, privacy and service quality (Michalas, Paladi and Gehrmann, 2014).
Cloud Computing in Healthcare
According to Doukas, Pliakas, and Maglogiannis (2010), the healthcare sector around the world has reformed its healthcare information technology (HIT) and the cloud computing application is experiencing transformation. Cloud computing enables hospitals, research facilities, and medical practitioners to avail themselves of computing resources at a lower capital outlay (Marketsandmarkets.com, 2015).
The healthcare sector, just like any other service operation, needs systematic and continuous innovation, which is timely, cost effective, and renders high-quality services. According to Kuo (2011), many managers and experts predict that cloud computing will improve the healthcare services, assist healthcare researchers, and transform the face of information technology. Schweitzer (2012) also believe that cloud computing can minimize the cost of e-health record startup expenses which includes networking, licensing fees, software and hardware.
According to Anderson et al. (2007), the major problems in biomedical research data management and analysis are the data-handling complexities, costs and the unavailability of computational solutions for problems. Several innovations like cloud computing have demonstrated that it has the potential to solve these problems. Cloud computing enables easy access to huge storage facilities which has proven to be impossible in an ordinary IT environment. It supports radiological images, large electronic records, and genomic data from the Information Technology department of the hospital (Rolim, et al., 2010).
Cloud computing enables hospitals and physicians to share electronic health records from different locations. It reduces the need for double testing, and also facilitates timely and quick access to life-saving details. It creates the possibility of tracking records and analyzing information which pertains to treatment, performance, and costs (Rolim, et al., 2010). Healthcare providers are modernizing their IT departments by deploying cloud computing. Budgets are created to cater for the installation of cloud computing applications and this will greatly improve the healthcare sector (Sultan, 2014).
Cloud Computing and Database Design
The database designed through cloud computing stores data at different centers at separate locations. This makes the cloud database design different from the conventional rational database management system. There are numerous nodes in the cloud database created for query services. Corporate data centers are located at different geological locations. In order to create easy access to data on the cloud computing system, the linking is mandatory. According to Pizzette and Cabot (2012), there are various methods for accessing records in a cloud computing service. The user may gain access to the computer which is connected to the Internet, or a user may access a cloud database through a mobile device connected to 3G or 4G services.
According to Bloor (2011), the speed of transferring data in a data center is high compared to the speed of accessing a data center through the internet. This is considered a performance barrier in the cloud computing database. Irrespective of this barrier (Al Shehri, 2013), there are numerous advantages of the cloud database which makes it preferable and adaptable for end users and organizations. The cloud database minimizes the cost of investing a huge sum of money in setting up other data centers and manpower to monitor, manage and upgrade its processes. According to Al Shehri (2013), here are the adaptive advantages of cloud database:
- The use of the cloud database design has transformed the way people shop online, which in turn saves time. Businesses can carry out transactions online irrespective of their location. Previously, employees needed to install software on their system in order to access the organization database, but now they can make use of already made resources in the cloud database which is made available through the Internet without wasting time (Al Shehri, 2013; Tsai, Sun and Balasooriya, 2010).
- The cloud database system not only saves time but also saves money. Businesses don’t need to invest so much money in setting up their data center services which is time-consuming, needs additional software installation and requires employing IT staff to conduct monitoring and maintenance of the system (Al Shehri, 2013; Hoang and Chen, 2010).
- The cloud database system offers DBaaS provider which ensures that customers are free from making changes to their database. It ensures that the company performance does not go down by providing scalability at peak times (Al Shehri, 2013; Park and Moon, 2015).
- Cloud computing ensures there is freedom to access information, data or records from any location through your computer or mobile phones without any barrier or complications. The cloud database system is an advanced technology which is preferred by companies because clients/customers, company management, and employees can gain access to desired information from anywhere at any time. Information can be accessed from the database without any difficulty, as long as the computer or mobile device is connected to the Internet (Al Shehri, 2013; Hoang and Chen, 2010).
- Cloud computing enhances the possibility for large companies and organizations to store a large volume of data in terabytes and makes accessibility easy at any time (Al Shehri, 2013; Park and Moon, 2015).
Cloud Computing Cost Effectiveness
According to Cetrom.com (2013), on-premise costs comprise software, hardware, design building, downtime, support and employees. These costs and many more can be managed by using the price-per-user month model. The cloud computing solution offers various benefits for a low cost. Through cloud computing, the on-premise server cost is eliminated. It improves the durability of your computer which in turn reduces cost in the long run. Businesses and organizations can reduce the cost of hiring IT staff by hosting online through a cloud database system (Kondo, et al., 2009).
Cloud computing maintains, monitors, and upgrades hosted programs. It reduces downtime and ensures that applications are available when needed. A minimized downtime increases productivity and creates high revenue and opportunities. According to Palanisamy (2013), one of the ways cloud computing is cost effective is through its pay-as-you-go cost structure. The platform enables service providers, software and application service providers, and hardware service providers to offer their services on demand and clients pay them based on how they have utilized their services (Tsai, Sun and Balasooriya, 2010).
Employees can access information online irrespective of their location. Cloud computing provides a scalable platform which grows with your business. It protects confidential details through secured and encrypted solutions, backup recovery, and firewalls (Sultan, 2014; Cetrom.com, 2013).
Applications for Health in the Cloud Computing Environment
Applications for health in the cloud computing environment reduce the barrier in healthcare technology. Cloud computing applications offer key technological benefits which include electronic records. Electronic medical records serve as an improvement in the healthcare sector. Cloud computing applications create an innovative way for storing patients’ records, and creates easy access to large storage and boost security (Michalas, Paladi and Gehrmann, 2014).
According to ITGCT (2014), cloud computing offers a streamlined collaboration through video conferencing, mobile devices and specialized applications built for healthcare purposes. Cloud computing creates speed and facilitates an improved communication process at a distance. Through these applications, patients can get expertise when needed and a faster response to disaster calls.
Cloud computing involves data analytics which enables tracking and data computation in real-time. End-users or medical practitioners can obtain necessary information for medical research, trend-spotting and referral generation. Cloud computing is not limited to data storage; it helps healthcare organizations create a larger pool of data for people to learn from (Doukas, Pliakas and Maglogiannis, 2010).
Applications in the cloud computing environment provide the opportunity for high-powered data solutions and research processes which are difficult for small computers to handle. Through cloud computing, the creation of new drugs and DNA sequencing is made possible. Cloud computing provides telemedicine capabilities through mobile technology and high-tech devices. This application enables the successful provision of healthcare solutions such as telesurgeries and consultations from any location. Patients can be monitored without visiting the hospital (Marasinghe, 2012).
Conclusion
It is obvious that cloud computing has countless benefits for the healthcare industry, but on the other hand, there are also some challenges, such as security risks that are associated with the cloud service. In the cloud computing, the verification of data is really important. Furthermore, the availability of the demanded healthcare records also has its importance. This is a big security issue because if a physician needs the report of some of the records, then the cloud service provider should provide all the necessary information and diagnoses along with other relevant information. This is important because the track record of the data should be available for the verification and on which devices the data has been accessed. This is important for the secure data process and it should also be included in the cloud computing contract. However, no one can deny the importance of the implementation of cloud computing in the healthcare industry.
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