To support and educate healthcare CIOs and IT leaders in addressing their industry-specific challenges, InterSystems has defined the pros and cons of traditional on-premises solutions versus cloud-based offerings.

Packaged in an insightful decision-making tool, InterSystems highlights the current difficulties healthcare IT leaders are encountering and demonstrates how cloud-based data integration platforms can help, especially for those navigating the increasingly complex landscape of healthcare information technology.

Healthcare CIOs and IT leaders are continuously tasked with pursuing innovation, simplifying operations, and improving patient care. Yet, legacy systems, staffing shortages, and the fragmentation of IT environments within the healthcare sector often hinder their efforts.

These difficulties have been exacerbated by the global wave of resignations that impacted many industries in 2022, with healthcare being particularly hard-hit. Many healthcare organisations struggle with reduced teams and legacy systems that are difficult and costly to maintain and scale.

The decision guide released by InterSystems, “The Business Case for a Healthcare Cloud Integration Platform: Opportunities and Considerations for Healthcare IT Leaders and Planners,” presents a holistic solution to these issues. Further, it elaborates on the benefits of transitioning to a new generation of cloud-based data integration platforms.

Key areas where a cloud-based integration platform can help include:

* Scalability: A cloud-based platform is built for easy and cost-effective scalability, providing health organisations with the flexibility to grow at their own pace.

* Data Privacy: A dedicated virtual private cloud for each customer ensures data privacy, a critical consideration in healthcare.

* High Performance and Availability: Cloud platforms are architected to deliver high performance and availability, guaranteeing seamless operations.

* Economic Efficiency: By transferring infrastructure costs and maintenance to the service provider, healthcare organisations can realise significant cost savings.

* Increased Innovation: Free from the burden of infrastructure management, healthcare IT teams can focus on core business imperatives like improving patient care and services.

* Enhanced Security: Comprehensive identity and access management controls, threat detection and response capabilities, and data encryption functionality contribute to enhanced data security.

Henry Adams, country manager of InterSystems South Africa, says: “We understand the immense pressure on healthcare IT leaders to innovate while managing complex legacy systems and overcoming staffing challenges. This guide aims to provide a strategic roadmap for a successful transition to a cloud-based healthcare data integration platform.”

The guide further dispels common myths about cloud services, provides tips on building a strong business case for the transition, and offers an in-depth comparison between maintaining the status quo and adopting a cloud-based solution.

“With the InterSystems HealthShare Health Connect Cloud, we offer a comprehensive data integration PaaS offering designed to streamline operations, boost application performance and availability, and free up resources for core business initiatives,” adds Adams.