Consider this; you live in a remote village in the arid corners of your country. One of your family members is sick and has to be airlifted to the regional hospital for medical attention. The flight alone costs you one camel, and you have to sell it at a throwaway price to ensure that your relative gets to the hospital in time.
At the hospital, you have to wait for the doctor in a white coat to finish dealing with another horde of patients, and as you wait, you have to register with the receptionist. You are handed a card and asked to wait in line for your engagement with the doctor.
When you finally meet him, the doctor is too busy even to recognize you or the patient. He scribbles notes into a dog-eared book that looks like it will fall apart any second and starts treating your dear relative.
There is no proper record-keeping at the hospital, and you even have a problem settling the bill at the end of the session. Your relative has received the treatment he needed, but you don’t even get a detailed document about what had hit him.
In addition, you are asked to buy medications that have been scribbled down on a brown medicine envelope in barely legible handwriting. The medication is costly, and you have to buy it from the pharmacy within the hospital. You feel like you are at the end of your patient when you finally get the dosage that has been prescribed, and you can no longer afford the flight back.
You are forced to bargain with a livestock trader who lives close to your village to let you ride with the cattle in the back on the way home. The journey is rough, but you manage to reach home without getting nudged in the ribs by lethal-looking cattle horns.
Once you arrive, you escort your relative to his place to get some rest and follow the doctor’s advice. You think back on the experience that you had at the hospital and realize that the state of affairs there was less than pleasing. Even if you did not have much choice, you should have been processed and documented appropriately.
What if the state of your patient escalates and the doctor has already lost his dog-eared notebook? Will you have to get a new waiting card while queuing due to the hospital’s poor document management system?
Well, you think about it but have to focus on reality as you now have to wait for your relative to get better before asking for the flight money to buy back your camel before it is gone up the dunes and away to a neighbouring country.
You live in arid areas, and business usually happens fast. It would help if you reclaimed your expenses before focusing on the other activities that you were submerged in before your relative fell ill. However, you get the feeling that something can be done about the current state of healthcare in your country.
You can perform better, and with the project currently being undertaken by a foreign investor in your county, there will soon be an abundance of electricity and free wireless internet for everyone in the county and several neighbouring counties.
The investor is installing a solar grid that will cover about a tenth of the desert that makes up a significant portion of your county. The solar farm will provide enough electricity for about five counties, and the surplus will be exported to the neighbouring country.
The wireless internet is not as promising as you have already had worse with your local service provider. Communication has always been sluggish in your county, and you are not even optimistic about the new internet. These are the many challenges that current medical systems face.
Not being able to keep track of patients and document management has been the main hurdles to receiving quality services. It would be more fun and memorable if your white-coated doctor was tapping away at a tablet when you took your relative in for examination.
A notebook is easy to forget, and when it has been lost, it takes a lot of information with it. The tablet would have boosted your confidence in the doctor, and it would be something that you would be narrating to your family for the weeks that followed the incident.
Healthcare is a sensitive part of any government, and the people deserve the best healthcare they can access. Access to good doctors and equipping hospitals to maximize all their capabilities is the right of the citizens as they are the very same people who vote in their leaders.
The politicians have the habit of scampering off like a kid that has been given treats and only reappears five years later; asking for another term from the very same citizens he has been avoiding and ignoring for the five years he has been spending their money on expensive trips and other expenses that are simply uncalled for.
If they had the good sense to invest in more healthcare institutions in your county, you would not have had to sell off a camel to fly your relative to the hospital. You would also have taken less time on the trip, and you would not be behind on your project.
The billions they keep misappropriating would be better used to set up new hospitals and medical centers in your county. It would have also brought employment for many people in your county who already have the academic credentials but cannot find a job anywhere.
Instead, all that happens is the looting and wrongful spending of money that should have been used more wisely. The sadder thing about it is that no half-time or review committee will ask the politician to make good of all their flowery promises before being voted in. once they are done misusing their position, they will disappear. There is nothing the whole county can do about it.
Thankfully, there has been an improvement in transparency for your politicians, especially when they are proud and boastful on social media. They keep posting about where they are off to but nothing about the promises they made. You can now check in on your politician who cannot resist the lure of social media.
Many people around him are on Instagram, and he keeps posting pictures of him in a suit, either entering or leaving his vehicle. There is nothing in the way of new projects and unveiling development milestones for your county in all the posts, but at least you can know when he is feeling itchy with his loot. The thousands of posts he makes are undoubtedly saved on the cloud, and you will be able to keep track of him more easily.
Talking of the cloud, there has been barely any cloud in the sky above you, and you are doubtful where you will get water for your livestock. There is an imminent drought, and the water-well is also showing signs of drying up. The borehole project supposed to start the very moment your politician got into power is still in the planning stage.
Rumours have it that the contractor made away with the money without doing any work. That means you are left all alone to face a near-impossible future. The cloud has been of interest to you since you attended an event where you learned about the cloud.
You learned about cloud computing and how it can be used to process and handle information on a massive scale. You start thinking about how your politician would have used the cloud to improve healthcare in your county, and suddenly it hits you.
Cloud computing has a lot of promise, and it can change the way we receive medical services. With the use of the cloud, the hospital can be better connected and organized. Keeping track of the details of any single patient is considerably easier than dealing with paper records and documents of the patients.
In this post, we see how cloud computing can be used for better healthcare in these sections:
- Cloud Applications to Streamline Hospital Services
- Cloud Storage for Easier Data Storage and Access
- Public-Facing Hospital Applications with the Backend in the Clouds
Cloud Applications to Streamline Hospital Services
If your doctor had a tablet to work with as opposed to an ordinary notebook, the experience at the hospital would have been considerably different for you. The use of mobile devices has been on the increase, and the use of a cloud application can make accessing medical information much easier.
If the doctor had been on a tablet, there would have been no need for so many questions that the receptionist had already asked. The information would have been entered into a computer system at the reception, and the doctor would even be addressing your relative by his name by the time you arrived for an appointment.
The use of cloud applications can make healthcare much more streamlined and easier to run. With cloud-based applications, your records would be stored in the cloud, and whenever you went to receive medical services, your records would be updated and the new entry added to your records.
Additionally, cloud applications would have made it easier for the doctor to access your entire medical history information. The experience would also have been a more friendly one with the use of cloud applications to streamline the process and keep all your information in sync.
Any new information and observations that previous doctors had made would also be easily accessible through the cloud applications. This would make future visits to the doctor more effective, shorter, and more productive. The use of cloud applications to make healthcare service easier would also be a way for the doctor to provide a more accurate diagnosis.
An accurate diagnosis is one of the main ways to avoid getting the wrong medication for a condition that you do not have. Most of the time, these problems are caused by the doctor prescribing medicine for a condition that you do not have, and it often leads to more complications. Accurate information is beneficial for making the correct diagnosis.
The doctor who has access to your entire medical history can better diagnose your current ailment. They will recommend medicines that you will not react to if you are allergic to the condition. For instance, there is this one moment when I got syrup for a cold I had been experiencing.
I was still a student at the moment, and when I got back to class, I could not concentrate on the rest of the afternoon lessons. I was so dizzy that I slept through most of the evening preps, and by the following mornings, my entire lips, including my lips, were swollen.
I took the feedback to our school nurse, and she told me it resulted from an allergic reaction to epinephrine in the syrup. The swellings were the result of the reaction and why I was so dizzy and sleeping the evening before. It was a sign of internal reactions and my system trying to fight off the foreign source code to the best of its ability.
Such an important medical record should be easily accessible to all the other doctors that I visit. I wouldn’t want them prescribing the same kind of medicine as it would cause me to develop allergic reactions, which are usually unpleasant and throw my entire day out of beat.
With the use of cloud computing, reference to medical information is efficient, but it is also secure. The patient’s privacy is preserved, and whenever they are receiving medical attention, all their records are made available to the doctor to help with the session.
The treatment will be much easier, and you will also spend less time with the doctor. For the doctor, they will be able to make better and more accurate diagnoses with the patients that they deal with. Working with digital information will also increase the number of patients they can deal with in a day, reducing the congestion at the hospital.
As you can see, it is a win for everyone involved, including the politician who will be able to earn another term without having to coerce everyone into voting for him. Had he spent the money on upgrading the IT in hospitals and your entire county, there would be no money getting lost, and as a matter of fact, your county would be getting better revenue.
Data makes records easier to track, and as a result, the systems that work with information can become more accountable. The data tells a story by itself. It is tough to cook results when you have data on the cloud saying otherwise. Hospitals with tech-savvy doctors are also friendlier to the patients who will feel a bit better when they visit the doctor.
Seeing the doctor tap away at a small device in their hands and providing the correct diagnosis can be seen as a great feat by the patients. It also goes to show how technology is being used to provide better healthcare. With the use of cloud-based services to provide better healthcare, more lives can be saved, and the information accumulated over time can be used to optimize and enhance the services offered to the patients.
The doctor is also made more productive as they no longer need to scribble anything down. The use of friendly interfaces in the doctor’s applications means that they will serve more patients, and their overall throughput will be increased. This will also mean that they will earn better when they are working with the cloud.
Tracking the performance of any components in the healthcare line will also be much easier with cloud computing. With the data, it will be possible to see where there are issues in delivering the best healthcare services to patients and make timely changes to ensure that the health system can improve itself over time just as you get software updates for your apps.
In a second version of the same healthcare service, the bugs noticed in the first versions would have been translated into features and upgrades that patch up the system making it more efficient and streamlined. A healthcare system can be compared to the source code in a computer application. In the early versions, it is still very buggy and ridden with issues.
However, it is also the same source of a lot of feedback that can be used to improve the system. Over time, the bugs discovered in the system can be factored into the same source code to ensure that any points of inefficiency are corrected.
Your healthcare system will be able to function much better when it has the cloud to take care of all the new medical records in addition to keeping all your data safely stored. The use of cloud applications means that the doctors and staff at the hospital will have information within easy reach whenever you visit them.
With the pharmacy having a copy of the same cloud application on their local computer, you will not even have to carry a note when going for the medication. The doctor will have already updated your records to show what medication you require.
Once you go to the pharmacy, they will give you the medication you need without you having to bother remembering complicated names for the medicines. Once you are given the medication, you are checked out of the system, and your records reflect that you have been treated and given the medication you need.
This is a straightforward process for you, and while you are at the hospital, the doctor will be able to add some more observations that they have made about your condition. This will all go into your records and will be very useful for when you need to get further attention.
The notes are also handy for your other visits to other doctors as they will have more information about your prior illnesses. This is also possible with cloud applications to make tour access to health services much easier and more organized. Cloud applications also make healthcare more streamlined as your progress in treatment and recovery are easily tracked throughout the system.
Any changes in your condition are added to your notes, and the doctor gets to make recommendations for further treatment. If you have to be put under observations, the doctor will put the recommendations together with their other notes.
The next time you visit any hospital, your records will already have been synced with the cloud, and the new doctor will be able to work based on the recommendations provided by your previous doctor. The use of cloud storage and the back end for the applications also means that different client applications can use the same application.
Suppose the different hospitals have different management systems that they use locally. In that case, they will still be able to interface with the cloud records and show them to the doctor in the same format that has been designed for the other applications that are in use in the new hospital.
The system would be much better with the cloud being taken up by the hospitals we attend whenever we fall ill. Better record-keeping also means that the doctor will not recommend medication unrelated to what we are suffering from. It also increases the efficiency of the health systems and makes it possible for the long queues of patients to be processed much faster.
With less or no paperwork to be used, the healthcare system will get to process a lot more information, and since there is no manual entry of any data, the patients will be processed much more effectively. The absence of waiting also means that the quality of the experience that each patient receives at the hospital will have been improved.
A uniform means of data presentation also makes it easier for private institutions to hook into the same cloud-based information through publicly available APIs. Using the APIs, the private hospitals and healthcare service providers will have access to the same information as the other doctor had. Referring to your medical information will be very easy.
You will also leave the hospital feeling much better after seeing the doctor tap away at a tablet for the entire length of the session. The use of tech in the hospital is not something we witness every day, and when it has been implemented, people will not need to visit the hospital twice. Healthcare is also easier to manage with the use of cloud-based applications.
The applications have access to a vast store of information, and whenever one is ill, their records are updated with the new information. The use of cloud applications also makes it much harder to make the wrong conclusions about any patient.
No matter which doctor has access to the medical records, they will always prescribe the appropriate treatment plan.
Cloud Storage for Easier Data Storage and Access
Storage of data reliably and safely, and securely is one of the main challenges in better healthcare in many places. Whenever the data is being stored at the premise, it calls for the need for there to be a data center at the hospital. This will also require an additional IT team, and the technical expenses of this can be huge.
However, using the cloud to store your medical records is much easier and even more affordable. At the scale that modern hospitals can operate at, the storage cost for your data will amount to less than a dollar for several years, which is very cheap to manage.
You are also assured that your data will still be intact even when you visit the hospital years after your initial diagnosis. A standard medical data representation format will make it easier to store medical records in the cloud. With a standard format for representing medical information and records, the data stored in the cloud will also be easier to fetch on client devices and applications.
Using a standard format to convey the information means that the application users will be able to interface with the data stored in the cloud and present it to the doctor with ease. The use of the cloud as a place to store medical information is also essential as local storage has been known to cause many problems.
Using local servers at the premises means that the hospital will require additional staff. However, the main concern with this practice is the likelihood of hackers stealing information from the hospital. If there are on the hospital network, they will easily break into the servers, leak medical information, or make malicious modifications.
However, the use of the cloud eliminates such risks to your medical information. Storing medical information on the cloud means that no one can be able to access the report.
Additionally, the use of the cloud means that there is no much maintenance that will need to be done by the hospital, which will also significantly reduced their operational costs. The use of cloud storage also makes that data available on a nationwide basis instead of only being accessible at the hospital. From the cloud, doctors from other hospitals can easily access the same hospital when they pick up the treatment for the patient.
With the cloud storage, they will not have to worry about the network being down at the other hospital as all the data will already have been synced to the other cloud. Accessing the same information from the cloud will take much less time, and getting the patients the best experience and quality of services will be made much more accessible.
The patients will also get to enjoy a smoother experience even when they have moved to another hospital. The information will be the same, and there will be no change in the kind of experience they receive at the new hospital.
They will no longer have to carry a hospital booklet with their information, and identity management for the patients will be as easy as bringing a card or using the national identification number of the patient. The use of cloud storage is also helpful in making the patient’s information secure from all kinds of attacks.
As the cloud is better protected than the local computational infrastructure at the hospital, hackers will have a more challenging time accessing the information. They will not be able to hack into the records or steal any of the files, which means that the confidential nature of the information belonging to the patient will also be preserved.
There are no agreements that will be broken when the data is in digital form. The patient will be able to guarantee a safe and confidential session whenever the patient has sensitive information. Medical classification systems also make it easier to mark certain records belonging to the patient as sensitive.
These records will require additional authorization and verification to be accessed, and any new doctor that tries to access the information will have to ask for further confirmation and credentials. This means that the same level of information confidentiality and doctor trust you enjoyed will be preserved even when the records are now being saved to the cloud.
Public-Facing Hospital Applications with the Backend in the Clouds
Hospital applications are an essential part of better healthcare that is powered by cloud computing. These are the applications used at the reception and by the doctor when you get into their office. The applications are designed to be easy to use and present information in the most effective and easy to understand way.
The use of mobile devices, for instance, makes it possible for the users of the application to easily view the information about the patient and their medical conditions with much ease. The use of authentication is also much easier to enforce when using mobile devices.
These devices are equipped with a camera that can be turned into an iris scanner or a face scanner whenever the patient has to prove or confirm their identity before being granted access to more sensitive information.
The design of the applications also makes it easy to enter data as the doctor will not have much time with any single patient. As a result, the design of the interfaces will have to be very simple to use and entering records should be as simple to use as possible.
Some of the standard records and options can be simplified to a selection list where the doctor selects some presented choices. In addition, the use of machine learning and artificial intelligence means that the doctor can start typing a condition or an illness, and the cloud application will handle the rest.
The search function is essential as it ensures that the doctor gets the information they need in good time. They can provide their patients with the best kind of experience possible and offer treatment in less time.
The applications are also designed to keep track of the patient information effectively and record a timestamp of when information has been entered. Using networking capabilities inbuilt into the devices, the application can easily sync the information with the servers hosted on the cloud.
Data is stored in the cloud as soon as it has been entered, and any further edits are synced with the cloud. This ensures that the records are always accurate at all times. The doctor gets to have the most accessible and most professional experience with any patients they interact with. As such, they can quickly form better relationships with their patients.
Having access to the patient’s records before the patient walks into their office means that the doctor has a moment to encourage them and assure them that they will get better. With this done, even the patient will feel a tinge of pride about the doctor and the interaction that they are having. This allows for the rest of the treatment and diagnosis to go as smoothly as possible.
The doctor will be able to operate professionally no matter who they are delaying with, which will be very good for their work and reputation. They will also spend as little time with each patient as possible to have all the patients on hand. As such, they will ask minimal questions, which is very good for many of the patients that are in pain.
The experience will be made effortless, and the patient will only have to spend a couple of minutes with the doctor. As a result, the doctor is free to deal with a lot more patients in a single day and their shift alone. They will have relieved the hospital of an entire line of patients waiting. This makes it easier to operate the hospital and deliver the services that the patients have been looking for.
As you can see, cloud computing can be of great help to transforming healthcare in many places and can even improve how people can access health services. Accessible healthcare for all will be made possible with the adoption of cloud computing in the health industry.
Governments can upgrade their hospitals by handing all their doctors lovely tablet computers and networking them with high-speed internet to enable them to stay connected to the patient database regardless of the time of day or night.
In emergencies, the records are even more critical as they allow the doctor to provide the best services and treatment to the patient. Basing on the patient’s medical records, the doctor will get to give them a much better treatment which is essential in such scenarios.
The use of cloud computing also means that the records will be accessible from more than one hospital. When the patient decides to visit a different hospital or travels to a different county when they fall ill, their medical records and past information will be easily accessible.
They can be used to ensure that they get medical attention and service they deserve. As a patient, you will be able to experience better healthcare, ensuring that you can accomplish your goals and live the dream. You will have access to the best healthcare, and this will improve your trust in your politician.
A politician who implements digital medical information systems is better than one who builds castles in the air and does not deliver on their promises.
Conclusion
I hear the camel has already been sold for three times what I sold it for and is already making its way across the desert to the neighbouring country. There goes my favourite animal. My herd is now thinning, and I doubt there will be anything left when the drought comes.
The water shortage has gotten much worse, and without a borehole in the vicinity, I will be forced to shift camp. I hear there is 5G internet getting installed in the next county, but there are very few shops there. That is the state of our country.
You get some things but miss out on others. Peaceful places lack the resources, but you will have to pay extra to live in other areas.
The resources are also very scarce and a true reflection of a political system that has been ravaged from an internal haemorrhage for so long we can’t even tell whether there is any development or the politicians are playing mental tricks by calling out to us across the desert and using the mirage to steal our resources and bleed us dry.
The tax is almost unbearable these days, but it is attached to so many items and services that you almost overlook when you have paid the additional 16% value-added task when you go shopping. I thought I was dreaming when I was renewing my license last month, but it is what it is.
Our politician is nowhere to be seen, which has been the case since he got our votes. He remains a pipe dream to most of us, and there is nothing he has done for the county except getting the foreign investment.
Apart from that, he has been bleeding us dry and making us pay for resources we haven’t been able to get to this day. The weather hasn’t spared us either, and it is dry as a gnawed bone out here. We do not know how much longer our livestock will be able to hold out, and security is a concern in the areas where there is a bit more water than our drying out watersheds.
I am considering making a move and hoping I’ll have better chances in the next county, but I will have to wait till my relative gets well enough to refund my camel, for which he will have to pay the total amount. At least I won’t feel the pinch I felt when I was selling the camel to fly him to hospital for medical attention. Now he is much better, but I hope that the digital wisp of cloud development lingering around will go into something good for our medical and healthcare system.
