The global healthcare cloud computing market was recently valued at approximately $18 billion and is expected to generate around $61 billion USD by 2025, at a CAGR of around 18.7% between 2019 and 2025. Key factors driving this growth are the adoption of IoT, wearable devices, and big data analytics.
Software as a Service (SaaS) is a service model in cloud computing whereby the vendor provides a complete package of software applications over the Internet to their customers, who subscribe for this ‘service.’ In healthcare, Software as a Service (SaaS) applications include clinical information systems (PACS, EHR, telehealth, etc.) and nonclinical information systems (billing, RCM, supply chain, etc.) replaces traditional software usage by reducing the need to own and host hardware.
Key differentiators of SaaS include:
– Fast provisioning and deployment
– Accessibility
– Numerous economic benefits.
Many healthcare organizations are using some sort of cloud-based software and have begun deploying SaaS applications throughout their hospitals. While there are many costs, security, and scalability benefits with SaaS solutions, challenges still arise when the time comes to roll out to end users.
In 2019, a Spok survey conducted by College of Health Information Management Executives (CHIME) members, respondents reveal how their hospitals manage SaaS deployments. Key findings of the survey include
– Everyone (100%) of respondents say their organization is using SaaS
– The majority (63%) use six or more SaaS applications
– The top three SaaS solutions are used for these applications: 1) patient portal, 2) telemedicine, 3) mobile communication
– Nearly 3 in 4 respondents said ‘reducing IT costs’ is the top driver for using SaaS
– Overall, most respondents (68%) say SaaS deployments went ‘as they expected’—only 19% said it was ‘harder’ and 13% said ‘better’
– Hands down, the top SaaS-related concern is a data breach or hack (70%)
To learn more, view the infographic below
