Considering the current issues facing the resource-deprived NHS, it’s clear to me that the UK health sector has a major opportunity for transformation through cloud-based technology. However, I was shocked to be told by someone in a recent technology workshop that I was barking up the wrong tree; health was apparently the last place I should be looking for cloud adoption.
Am I delusional?
It is certainly true that a cursory glance at UK health services reveals plenty of inertia when it comes to IT. Anyone who has witnessed the inner workings of the NHS will no doubt be familiar with the creaking, dust-covered legacy systems in operation, and could be forgiven for thinking it impossible that the cloud could ever touch these institutions.
Cloud-enabled growth
The attitude and software design patterns of a modern, ‘cloud-first’ organisation such as Netflix or Salesforce sound like a work of science fiction when compared with what health professionals use to conduct their work on a daily basis. However, I strongly believe that the UK health sector is ripe for an explosion of growth in new IT experiences enabled by the cloud.
The three major, ongoing computing trends of social, mobile and data analytics – all being driven by the ongoing democratisation of computing – have a combined a role to play in transforming how the NHS delivers the right care to the right people, and most crucially, at the right time.
The signs of a revolution are already evidenced by central government, the leading private industry in public cloud and open source adoption, agile development and continuous delivery of new digital experiences and systems of engagement. This is having an impact and contributing towards persuading other public sector organisations of the rewards to be gained.
For example, who would have thought we would witness Oracle being ditched by the NHS in favour of an open-source NoSQL (Not Only SQL) database? We are also seeing the emergence of an ecosystem of private sector providers such as myhealthpal, an organisation which is leveraging cloud, mobile and wearable technology to improve the treatment of chronic medical conditions.
Trusting technology
As the media continues to report on the biggest crisis in the history of the NHS, it can be difficult for some, particularly those employed in the sector, to imagine technology as part of the solution.
At Daisy, we are very are excited about the potential of cloud in health and the ways it can improve people’s lives. We are constantly working to implement products and tool-sets that help our customers work safely and more productively in the cloud, with the hope that we can play a part in allowing a new generation of health innovators to build better services to ease the strain.
Find out how Daisy Health can benefit your practice by clicking here or calling 01268 885 770
