Signify Premium Insight: Cloud Adoption in Imaging IT: A Long and Complex Road to Ubiquity

Cloud-native medical imaging IT solutions (imaging IT software that is designed specifically for cloud-use) are being viewed as a potential solution to these challenges. One of their key advantages, namely, greater remote accessibility, has been highlighted during the COVID-19 pandemic, amid the increase in remote working. Not only are radiologists and other professionals able to securely access medical images and associated records away from the provider’s network, they can do so from any medical-grade device. Cloud deployment for imaging IT also offers better access to processing power, which increasingly important as processor-intensive image-analysis and AI tools are adopted. A transition to cloud solutions for imaging IT should in theory also offer providers greater flexibility in terms of usage and business model. From a single outpatient clinic to an entire provider network, Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) based cloud products are normally easier to tailor to fit specific requirements, rather than them having to commit to potentially expensive and inflexible hardware investments. Given recent volatility in markets because of COVID-19, this is becoming an increasingly attractive offer for healthcare providers to better manage service changes in the coming years.