• About Us
  • Sponsorship Opportunities
  • Privacy Policy

Data Center Frontier

Charting the future of data centers and cloud computing.

  • Home
  • Energy
  • Design
    • Servers
    • Storage
    • Network
  • Cooling
  • Cloud
    • Hyperscale
  • Technology
    • Internet of Things
    • AI & Machine Learning
    • Edge Computing
    • Virtual Reality
    • Autonomous Cars
    • 5G Wireless
  • Colo
    • Site Selection
  • Voices
  • White Papers
  • Resources
    • Events
    • Newsletter
    • Companies
    • Data Center 101
  • Jobs
You are here: Home / Cloud / Why Data Centers Are Important for the Health Care Industry

Why Data Centers Are Important for the Health Care Industry

By Kayla Matthews - August 27, 2018 Leave a Comment

Why Data Centers Are Important for the Health Care Industry

The health care industry is expected to spend close to $2.7 trillion per year on IT infrastructure by 2020. (Image: Pexels)

LinkedinTwitterFacebookSubscribe
Mail

Today Data Center Frontier is beginning a series of stories examining the role of data center services in specific industry verticals, and how it will impact demand from those sectors. We begin with the digital transformation of health care.

The entire health care industry is getting a top-to-bottom overhaul thanks to modern technology, timely legislation and a changing demographic landscape. The health care industry is expected to spend close to $2.7 trillion per year on IT infrastructure, including data centers, by 2020.

This signals a huge change in the way health services are administered and means the availability, affordability and uptime of data centers are now top-of-mind concerns for health system administrators.

With the routine storage and transmission of large files such as CT scans, MRIs and other diagnostic images and the rollout of electronic patient health records — which are required in most cases and just good business practice in all others — the time is right for the industry to pivot toward a more robust, standardized and secure digital infrastructure.

Additionally, more and more patients are beginning to recognize the value of telemedicine. Especially popular in the mental health care space, telemedicine uses technologies like VPNs and video conferencing software to remotely meet with patients.

To realize the benefits of modern digital technology, the health care industry is going to need data centers and IT and compliance specialists to make sure everything is up to code with the world’s ever-evolving privacy and security regulations and best practices.

Changes in Health Care Driving Data Center Adoption

As of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in 2014, all public and private health care providers — as well as all “eligible professionals” — must transition their practices to electronic health records. The benefits are clear: critical patient histories and records follow patients no matter where they seek treatment, and that same paperwork is less likely to go missing somewhere in a transition or due to misfiling.

The increasing need for data storage solutions has come with both initial and recurring expenses for health care providers, but the convenience and oversight it has introduced have proven vital to the industry.

This federal-level mandate is just one reason among many why the health care industry has become so data-hungry. Another is general legal preparedness, since the careful handling of records is essential in such a risk-averse business.

There is also the sheer number of machines and types of equipment seeing regular deployment during the administration of health care. All of it generates a considerable amount of high-fidelity imaging and diagnostic data:

Free Resource from Data Center Frontier White Paper Library

Edge Computing Archetypes
Defining Four Edge Computing Archetypes and their Technology Requirements
Over the last several years, “edge computing” has become one of the most talked about trends in IT, and for good reason. Nearly every industry is recognizing the limitations of supporting users and emerging technologies through centralized IT infrastructures and is pushing storage and computing closer to users and devices. Download the new white paper from Vertiv to learn more about edge computing and the four edge archetypes the company has identified.
Download
  • CT scanners
  • X-ray machines
  • MRI machines

The images these machines capture previously occupied folders and files. But now, any health care practitioner a patient might see over the course of their treatment can store and retrieve their records and other documents. This is a significant driver of data storage needs. Although these types of scanners and imaging machines have grown more sophisticated over the years, they still rely on familiar technologies.

The Internet of Things and Health Care Data

Another new wrinkle has appeared in the rollout of digital solutions for the health care landscape: the Internet of Things. The IoT, like data center technology, has many unique applications in health care, manufacturing and the other significant industries we depend on for accuracy and efficiency.

The health care industry currently relies on many fixed-position technologies like high-powered microscopes and detailed scanning equipment. The current and future potential of mobile, always-connected technologies is, if anything, even more impressive. The IoT has gained a significant foothold in the health care industry, thanks to its applications in:

  • Patient monitoring devices
  • Control stations and monitors for patient rooms
  • RFID chips and readers for tracking facility assets and equipment
  • Patient drug delivery and scheduling systems
  • Wearables for taking physiological benchmarks — blood pressure, blood oxygen, etc.
  • Video capture technology

Just like X-rays and MRI machines, the IoT and health-related wearables markets are flooding our practices and hospital systems with considerable amounts of granular, historical data on an ever-growing pool of patients.

The IoT and health-related wearables are flooding medical practices and hospital systems with considerable volumes of granular, historical data on patients.

A variety of devices are already available for capturing, streaming and indexing these files, photos and videos, but equally robust and secure methods will be needed for storing them over time.

The Future of Health Care: A Larger Pool of Patients

Without wading into politics, it’s clear modern opinions on health care are divided, but also drifting decisively toward expanded coverage. With every regulatory step forward, including the Affordable Care Act, and now with talk of expanding Medicare for universal coverage, the pool of patients has gotten gradually larger over the years.

Unfortunately, there’s still a real coverage gap to address before we reach universal coverage. We can expect 3 million retirees to leave the workforce each year over the next two decades, according to 2014 predictions from the Hospitals and Health Network.

Between the changing regulatory landscape, larger pools of insured persons seeking preventive and emergency treatment and an aging population, we’ll not only see a need for more doctors, nurses and community medical centers. We’ll also see an explosion of data centers to contain the collected information of tens of millions — and eventually hundreds of millions — of individuals.

This is the scope of the challenge awaiting health care. Meanwhile, the equally daunting task of keeping all this data secure for our retirees, pediatric patients and every average citizen who takes part in the health care system complements this roadblock.

HIPAA Compliance Drives Requirements

HIPAA now requires higher levels of vigilance from health care providers when it comes to data handling practices and communication protocols, but it has come with some growing pains. Some 36 percent of all reported industrial data breaches took place in the health care industry, according to reports from 2017.

We can expect HIPAA compliance to become a major differentiator for data center and cloud computing providers who want to capitalize on demand from the health sector and expand their services to new industries. Compliance includes maintaining high privacy and cybersecurity standards and carrying out timely technology and process transitions. Examples include the government-mandated move to electronic health records and end-to-end encrypted communication systems for discussing patient cases and transmitting sensitive records.

We can expect HIPAA compliance to become a major differentiator for data center and cloud computing providers who want to capitalize on demand from the health care sector.

HIPAA compliance — and other laws like it — are important for the future of the health care industry, the care of an aging population and extending services to a growing number of insured people seeking health care for the first time.

Realistically, it also means not every hospital system will have the means to update their infrastructure or build an on-premises data center. And those who do might find it’s best to move forward with a subscription or contract with a third-party software, security, IT or cloud company – creating either direct or indirect demand for data center services.

Needed:  Health Care Data Architects & Compliance Specialists

This transition represents a perfect storm of necessary changes. Imaging technology has grown more complex and is producing larger files than ever, as the size of a standard MRI image has doubled since 2005. Vast portions of the workforce are retiring at once. More social health care regulations are making the pool of ensured citizens grow ever larger.

Beyond the obvious conclusion — which is that we’re going to need many more data centers than we have now — we’re also going to need more security, IT and compliance specialists.

It’s unlikely an industry apart from health care could better represent the coming together of public and private interest — and the high-tech and the traditional — and help us to organize our efforts, resources and talents. Clearly, this field is full of opportunity.

LinkedinTwitterFacebookSubscribe
Mail

Tagged With: Compliance, Health Care, HIPAA

Stay informed: Get our news updates!

* indicates required
Are you a new reader? Follow Data Center Frontier on Twitter or Facebook.

About Kayla Matthews

Kayla Matthews is a tech journalist and blogger, whose work has appeared on websites such as VentureBeat, MakeUseOf, VICE’s Motherboard, Gear Diary, Inc.com, The Huffington Post, CloudTweaks, and others. Drawing from her interests in technology and its applications to daily life, Matthews writes about the intersection of technology and productivity.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Voices of the Industry

Top 2019 Trends Impacting the World's Escalating Demand for Data and Power

Top 2019 Trends Impacting the World\'s Escalating Demand for Data and Power Jim Witham, CEO of GaN Systems, explores the top 2019 data cent power trends, and highlights new perspectives and approaches to thinking about and addressing the power needs of the diverse technology that surrounds us. 

DCF Spotlight

Power room at the SUPERNAP data center in Las Vegas.

GaN Rising as Power Chain Option as Energy Demand, Cost Grows

Data center leaders are exploring the potential of using Gallium nitride (GaN) in power conversion equipment to increase efficiency. Although GaN has been around for a while, it’s relatively new to the data center world.

Data center modules on display at the recent Edge Congress conference in Austin, Texas. (Photo: Rich Miller)

Edge Computing is Poised to Remake the Data Center Landscape

Data center leaders are investing in edge computing and edge solutions and actively looking at new ways to deploy edge capacity to support evolving business and user requirements.

See More Spotlight Features

White Papers

colocation provider

Flying Solo, or Going Colo?

Building and operating an enterprise data center (“flying solo”) can be a daunting task that is capital intensive. Being a tenant at a colocation provider can take a lot of burden off the corporate facilities team and reduce CAPEX. Download the new report from Server Technology and Raritan that aims to help enterprises make the decision to choose a colocation provider or building and operating an enterprise data center on their own. 

Download
See More White Papers »

Get the Latest News from DCF

Job Listings

RSS Job Openings | Peter Kazella and Associates, Inc

  • Critical Power Field Service Engineer - San Antonio, TX
  • Lead Mechanical Engineer - Dallas, TX
  • Lead Electrical Engineer - Phoenix, AZ
  • Mechanical Engineer - Chicago, IL
  • Data Center Construction Manager - Dallas, TX

See More Jobs

Topics

  • 5G Wireless
  • Cloud
  • Colo
  • Connected Cars
  • Cooling
  • Cornerstone
  • Design
  • Edge Computing
  • Energy
  • Executive Roundtable
  • Featured
  • Hyperscale
  • Internet of Things
  • Machine Learning
  • Network
  • Servers
  • Site Selection
  • Social Business
  • Special Reports
  • Storage
  • Virtual Reality
  • Voices of the Industry
  • White Paper

About Us

Charting the future of data centers and cloud computing. We write about what’s next for the Internet, and the innovations that will take us there. We tell the story of the digital economy through the data center facilities that power cloud computing and the people who build them. Read more ...
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

About Our Founder

Data Center Frontier is edited by Rich Miller, the data center industry’s most experienced journalist. For more than 15 years, Rich has profiled the key role played by data centers in the Internet revolution. Meet the DCF team.

TOPICS

  • 5G Wireless
  • Cloud
  • Colo
  • Connected Cars
  • Cooling
  • Cornerstone
  • Design
  • Edge Computing
  • Energy
  • Executive Roundtable
  • Featured
  • Hyperscale
  • Internet of Things
  • Machine Learning
  • Network
  • Servers
  • Site Selection
  • Social Business
  • Special Reports
  • Storage
  • Virtual Reality
  • Voices of the Industry
  • White Paper

Copyright Data Center Frontier LLC © 2019