Friday, September 13, 2013

The cloud vs. Ownership

Cloud based media
Pros.
  • Less up-front costs for licensing
  • No server hardware or software to purchase/house/maintain
  • Possibly easier to transition to a different system
  • More cost effective for solo/small group practices
  • Better support
  • Easy to set up hot-site in case of disaster
  • Host companies typically have more sophisticated security measures/data protection
  • Vendor more likely to meet HIPAA regulations than the practice can
  • Onus more on vendor to meet Meaningful Use
  • Good for physicians who are not office-based or travel a lot
Cons.
  • Customizability limited
  • Latency or lag time accessing information across web/ slower response time
  • Patient information may be compromised if co-mingled with other clients
  • At the mercy of the vendor regarding backups, security
  • More expensive over the long haul
  • Captive client – host controls your data
  • Practice is dead in the water with internet outage
  • May not be viable for rural practices with limited internet options
  • Practice can lose data if vendor goes out of business
  • May be impractical for uploading larger imaging files
  • Bandwidth limited by practice’s internet connection

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