The threads of the cloud computing phenomenon can be found long ago in the 1950s at the same time when computers came into existence. At that time, it was not possible for organizations to buy the mainframe computer because of its exorbitant costs. Users gained access to the central computer through dummy terminals and that was the only task those terminals could perform. Thus, the idea of providing shared access to a single device or computer transpired in organizations so that they could save expenses to access the mainframe computer. Much later in 1970, IBM launched an operating system named Virtual Machine (VM) operating system. The concept evolved with the internet and soon businesses began offering virtual private networks as a rentable service. These developments lead to the formation of the modern cloud computing infrastructure in the 1990s. In the early 2000s, Amazon Web Services rose and in 2006, Amazon launched Elastic Compute Cloud in 2006 which enabled individuals to rent virtual computers through which they could utilize their own program and applications.
A significant transformation in the healthcare industry
Technology has not only been a part of each industry but has become an essential aspect of human life as well. It has not been the same case with healthcare as it is considered to be an industry that involves personal touch with patients. Nevertheless, there has been a huge shift in the healthcare industry to ease the process and create a better experience for the customer. At the beginning of 2018, the significant transformation in the digital healthcare industry was the adoption of public cloud and multi-cloud access. Due to the widespread utilization of emerging technologies such as machine learning, there was preparation surrounding increasingly complex regulatory frameworks such as the enactment of the General Data Protection Regulation in May 2018. Furthermore, the inclusion of AI and machine learning are set to revolutionize digital solutions in the healthcare industry. With the advancement in technology and security, many healthcare organizations can rein in the benefits of the cloud.
Progress of the digital health landscape with the advancement of cloud technology
There hasn’t been a slowdown in the transformation of digital healthcare in the current year. With more developments in technologies like telehealth, and natural language processing APIs, cloud technology will keep on progressing to fit the new digital health landscape in 2019. There would be different advantages for larger enterprises when they use particular clouds, especially in the case of Platform as a Service (PaaS) solution. Healthcare providers can now be assured that they can collaborate with more than one cloud provider in an effective way. In 2019, multi-cloud will not be separate cloud providers for different applications, disaster recovery or cloud provider diversity but there will be a focus on an integrated healthcare multi-cloud strategy around distinct public services for the same application. As cloud computing platforms enhance their storage, security, process, and analytical abilities, healthcare will be revolutionized by data. Take the instance of Google whose consistent history in big data, analytics, and machine learning culminated in the launch of Google Health API. While multi-cloud access increases, healthcare industries would utilize the expertise of Google to meet the unique requirements of their business. In 2019, as applications become web-based, there will be a persistent cloud adoption across healthcare and life science organizations on a global level.
With the above point proving that the adoption of cloud will revolutionize the healthcare and life science industry, there needs to be a focus on Google cloud Healthcare API that has been at the forefront to offer innovative solutions for the healthcare providers.
Google Health API bridges the gap between care systems and applications
Google Cloud Healthcare API distances the gap between care systems and applications built on Google Cloud. The objective of Google Cloud Health API has been to progress data interoperability by breaking down data silos that exist within care systems. Moreover, Google also aims to give healthcare facilities more analytical power with the assistance of Google Cloud Healthcare API. The API offers a managed solution for storing and accessing healthcare data in the Google Cloud Platform (GCP). With the help of this API, users can now explore new capabilities for data analysis, machine learning, and application development for healthcare solutions. Along with that, the Google Cloud Health API simplifies app development and device integration to speed up the process. Cloud Healthcare API ensures interoperability by connecting data to advanced Google Cloud Capabilities which include streaming data processing with Cloud DataFlow, scalable analytics with the help of BigQuery and Machine learning with the use of Cloud Machine Learning engines by supporting standards-based data formats and protocols of existing healthcare technologies.
Three interfaces in the Google Cloud Healthcare API
The Google Cloud Healthcare API contains three modality based interfaces in the Beta stage that implement industry-specific standards for a large amount of health data. The first API is the Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resource which is the emerging standard for the interoperability of healthcare data. The second interface is the HL7v2 that is a vital communication modality for any application seeking to connect to existing clinical systems. The third and the last interface is DICOM which is the established standard for storing and exchanging medical images and their metadata across a wide range of disciplines including radiology, cardiology, ophthalmology, and dermatology.
Enterprises benefiting from the use of Google Cloud Health API
Many enterprises have been benefitting from the use of the Google Cloud. Take the example of McKesson that will take advantage of Google Cloud in several ways. The company will use Google Cloud Platform’s healthcare-specific services such as the Cloud Healthcare API, to enhance its platforms and applications. It will use analytics on Google Cloud to make data-driven decisions for product manufacturing, specialty drug distribution, and pharmacy retail operations. Through the power of the cloud, McKesson hopes to create and modernize next-generation solutions to deliver better healthcare solutions for patients. Another enterprise Flywheel is integrating Google’s Healthcare API with its platform to capture multi-modality images and data, strengthen the productivity of data classification, and securely collaborate with peers to manage analysis and metadata.
In conclusion, the increasing incorporation of cloud computing by enterprises in the healthcare and life sciences industry shows the potential of cloud computing to transform the healthcare market. According to the 2018 Netwrix Cloud Security In-Depth Report, 69 percent of healthcare organizations plan to transfer their sensitive data to the cloud, 23 percent are ready for a broader adoption of the cloud, 23 percent aim to move their entire infrastructure to the cloud within next 5 years and 1 percent will be adopting a cloud-first approach in the near future. This progressing adoption will help Google Cloud API to serve a majority of healthcare institutions as most of them are already on the path to leverage cloud in the coming future. Likewise, the enterprises switching to the Google Cloud API will assist the platform to improve further.
