Cloud Based EHR's

 When it comes to cloud usage, privacy and security issues will not be overlooked. HIPAA will expect companies to conduct various audits  and also establish a structured set of security controls. Because Cloud can hold all forms of information, from advanced to basic, it's important that the security controls are of the highest standards, especially when it comes to medical information.

With the digital age constantly progressing, it's no surprise that healthcare is slowly turning to all the technological advances our modern day world as to offer. The online community, once feared by the healthcare industry, is slowly becoming a tool, for patients, providers, and marketers to use. Because their rate of efficieny is so high, many companies are looking towards EHR's for the future. Cloud based EHRs will become more popular because of their lower costs, but EHR vendors that host the data in the cloud are subject to HIPAA and will need to protect the patient data, said Joy Pritts, Chief Privacy Officer for the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT.

When it comes to converting to cloud, it's important to know how to assess your privacy and data issues. However, the amount of information can be overwhelming, so where do you start? In terms of adapting, how do you decide which solution provider best suits you?

At the Cloud Computing for Life Congress Sciences event, we'll discuss what matters when assessing security and compliance issues with cloud-based strategies. Angela Lightfoot, Director, Health & Life Sciences Consulting, SAS SOLUTIONS OnDemand, leads our session: Addressing the BIG Concern: Data Security and Compliance. To learn more about the event, download our brochure.


We hope to see you March 21-22 in Washington, DC! As a reader of the Cloud Computing Congress blog, you get a 15% discount off the standard rate when using code XP1808BLOG to register.

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Session Spotlight: Cloud computing can save the pharmaceutical and life science industry money, but what are the risks?

The primary rationale attracting pharma companies to adopt cloud-based technologies is convenience, ease of operations and reduced cost; allowing them to focus more on research and development of newer drugs, as well as sales and marketing. The primary issue with cloud computing, however, which is making many pharma companies and other potential and current users of the cloud wary, is data portability and breach of confidentiality.

While it is very easy to create and migrate information to the cloud, it is equally, if not more, difficult to take data off from the cloud—which leads to serious concerns regarding data privacy and data control. Do the benefits outweigh the potential risk? What is the best way to understand the cost/benefit of cloud adoption?

Session: HIPAA Compliance and Cloud Security

Topics Include:

• Understand how to maintain patient privacy when using a public cloud and be HIPAA compliant

• How to protect private information stored in public clouds

• Learn how to manage patient information in clinical trials and maintain privacy

At this year's Cloud Computing Congress for Life Sciences, we discuss how to protect private information stored in public clouds, so you can safely optimize your systems. To learn more about the Cloud Computing Congress event, check out our agenda and join us March 21-22 in Washington, DC!

As a reader of this blog, you will receive 15% discount off the standard rate when you register to join us when using code XP1808BLOG to register.

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Cloud Security

In the past few years,'cloud' has become a bit of a buzzword. The meaning to many people is ambiguous, but regardless, the hype behind the word continues to grow. Each year more companies are intrigued by the efficiency of accessing data from many different locations, as well as having all that vital information stored in one place. However, because it IS so accessible that of course raises the question, 'How secure is my information?'.

Gartner, a technology research and advisory firm, predicts that by 2015, 10 percent of IT security capabilities will actually be delivered by the cloud, and by 2016 the public cloud infrastructure will be subject to considerably tighter regulations by the government.Combined with the growth of the bring-your-own-device (BYOD) movement, the cloud will ensure that data and network security will be in the spotlight in the near future. The issue of safety, as well as the anticipation of Cloud's success, shows that over the next few years we can expect to see security evolve and change.

With so many companies moving towards the cloud, how will the impact the future of our data?

With it's innovative technology and organization, Cloud could easily transform the world of Life Sciences. How will you be prepared to secure your data while using cloud? Attend our session 'Addressing the BIG Concern: Data Security and Compliance' discusses privacy issues and learn more. Join us March 21-22 in Washington, D.C. for the  Cloud Computing Congress for Life Sciences and download our brochure to learn more.

As a reader of this blog, you will receive 15% discount off the standard rate when you register to join us when using code XP1808BLOG to register.

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White Paper: What can the cloud do to improve clinical trials?

Can drug development and clinical trials to bring those drugs to market be done faster with the right technology?   The National Cancer Institute and Bristol-Myers Squibb recently partnered to see how using cloud technology along with digital signatures and digital identities could do this.

According to the white paper Research collaboration in the cloud: How NCI and Research Partners are using Interoperable Digital Identities, Digital Signatures and Cloud Computing to Accelerate Drug Development:

The researchers were provisioned with interoperable digital identity credentials, a form of software installed on a computer, cell phone or other device, which establishes a close link with the user’s  proven identity and allows for the application of digital signatures to electronic documents. Unlike their  simple electronic counterparts, digital signatures cryptographically guarantee the integrity of documents to which they are affixed. In the pilot study, the electronic documents were placed in the cloud, where the researchers were able to access and sign them immediately. Prior to the study, the signature process was delayed by use of courier service, fax, travel, etc. 

So what did this case study find out about using the cloud and other digital services to track the progress of the clinical trial? There was immense amounts of cost savings because there was no need to overnight documents to where they needed to be, time was saved due to the immediate ability to process documents, document loss was eliminated due to the fact that everything was digital, and the the carbon footprint created by the study was minimized.

Read the full paper here.

This March at the Cloud Computing for Life Sciences event, the NCI and Bristol Meyers Squibb will be on hand to present "Innovative research Collaboration in the Cloud" to present a more in-depth look at this case study.  They will expand on understand what interoperable digital identities are, and why they were central to the success of this study.  For more information on this session and the rest of the event, download the agenda.  If you'd like to join us, register today and mention code XP1808BLOG to save 15% off the standard rate.

Do you think that the cloud could have a significant impact on clinical trials?  How and why?

This blog is co-posted with the Clinical Trial Partnerships blog.

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