Jul 21
2016
The DaaS Model Is a Good Fit for the Healthcare Industry
Guest post by Brent Whitfield, CEO, DCG Technical Solutions, Inc.
The healthcare industry deals with tight IT budgets and highly confidential records that require premium security, which is why desktop as a service (DaaS) is an appropriate solution. This technology allows you to focus more on your healthcare business than IT, which in the long run, cuts costs. Here are various other reasons why desktop as a service may be the right solution for your healthcare operation.
Virtual Desktops and the Cloud
When you use desktop as a service you are operating on a “virtual desktop” powered by a cloud provider. It connects everyone in your organization through one platform. Employees can then bring their own laptops or other devices to access data or communicate with other team members. This system potentially means you no longer need IT to maintain every physical desktop and server in an in-house infrastructure.
Instead of updating security on every company computer, the cloud provider handles security updates, which tend to prevent breaches better than a locally managed system, especially those that are HIPAA-compliant.
Healthcare Collaboration
Because of the growing complex nature of the healthcare industry, professionals from various specialties within the field are working together, creating a more collaborative culture. That’s another good reason to use virtual desktops, which allow for easy collaboration between even distant facilities in real time.
This team effort requires strong, decisive leadership so that staffing, ethics and communication are high quality. If this essential foundation is in place combined with desktop as a service, the result is enormous synergism for dealing with committee issues such as interdisciplinary programs, charters and training programs. Another reason for collaboration is that it helps expedite services, which can help save lives.
Strength of DaaS Security
Since all healthcare facilities must comply with strict HIPAA regulations, which require robust security to protect patient privacy, cloud solutions are becoming increasingly more appropriate than trying to run all systems on in-house architecture. As long as you make sure your cloud provider is HIPAA-compliant, you won’t have to worry much about constant security updates or data backups since the cloud provider will do that for you.
In recent years, healthcare data breaches have affected more than 30 million patients. But that was often a result of thieves stealing laptops were confidential information was stored. It raises the question: would you rather store data on multiple devices that can potentially be stolen, or in a safe cloud-based haven where only users with passwords gain access?