The cloud has come to medical school. Cloud computing, of course, where organizations can store and manage data over the Internet.
It’s coming now to the University of Southern California (USC)’s Keck School of Medicine through a partnership with iChartsMD, which will provide its cloud-based electronic medical record (EMR) software for the school and its medical students, according to a story by Steve Campbell.
USC will have the ability to integrate a Drummond ONC- ATCB certified solution into its curriculum as well as the software tools the medical students will need to incorporate into their medial futures. The Drummond solution helps organizations develop and use electronic health records and then demonstrate “meaningful use” to qualify for federal financial incentives.
The use of cloud computing in healthcare is expected to increase exponentially in the coming years because it allows data to be stored on servers not owned by an organization, saving both space and money, according to InPharm.com. It also helps healthcare professionals to easily share data with each other. For these reasons, medical students must learn how cloud computing works, and helps them.
The Web site reports that, according to the Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology, several hundred vendors currently offer some form of EMR “in the cloud.”
Cloud computing also offers “improved accessibility of applications and off-site management of data, which increases efficiency and security in data management,” according to InPharm.
The Keck School of Medicine at USC is a major medical research facility has more than 1,200 full-time medical professionals on staff, with an additional 4,600 volunteer medical professionals, according to the story, and is one of the largest teaching hospitals in the country.
iChartsMD helps clinicians electronically manage medical charts, write prescriptions and fill orders to allow more time for patients.
“The ability to rapidly and cheaply (or even for free) upload large files of information to share with potentially anyone on the Internet is incredibly useful,” writes Geoff Webb. “Couple this with cross-platform support that enables files to be uploaded from one device and viewed on another and it’s little wonder that the information-heavy world of healthcare is embracing cloud storage as a lifeline in a sea of slow and complex file sharing options.”Edited by
Stefanie Mosca
