That’s right – some of the government’s most sensitive information is moving out of the server and into the cloud.
News broke last month that the Pentagon is planning to implement a four-part “cloud computing strategy” across the Department of Defense. According to the DoD, this ambitious program will “create a more agile, secure, and cost-effective service environment that can rapidly respond to changing mission needs.”
The extensive plan was laid out in a 44-page report that highlighted the DoD’s need to find a budget-conscious solution that would eliminate the “duplicative, cumbersome, and costly set of application silos” the Department currently relies on.
The authors of the report also addressed the need for the government to “realize increased efficiency, effectiveness, and security” through the capabilities of modern, cloud-based IT.
It’s an unexpectedly forward-thinking move and laudatory mission for the DoD to undertake this transformation. And it’s making us wonder why the cloud is trustworthy enough for the Pentagon, but has yet to be widely embraced in healthcare.
Hospitals and medical offices across the U.S. continue to rely on server-based technology systems. Doctors, ignoring the liabilities inherent to the client-server model, claim to have concerns for the security of health data when discussing their hesitations about the cloud.
But besides healthcare, there’s no sector in the world with a more fervent, critical need to keep its data secure than the body that runs the United States military. In its report, the DoD even touts the availability of enhanced cybersecurity in the cloud.
There’s another common (albeit ill-conceived) argument against the cloud in healthcare, too – the one claiming healthcare is a stodgy, bureaucratic industry that’s slow to adopt systems and processes outside its comfort zone. The cloud’s “too new” for such an old-guard sector, some say.
Know what’s really an old guard sector? The Department of Defense, our nation’s oldest and largest government agency and the biggest employer in the entire world. And the cloud’s not “too new” for them.
It’s long past time for healthcare to embrace the cloud. As the DoD will prove by executing its aggressive cloud-computing strategy, the future of IT across all industries is web-based, cost-effective, efficient, and above all, secure.
The Pentagon has given the cloud its seal of approval. Doctors should, too.
Do you know what you need when setting up a new medical practice?
