Dive Brief:
- A new survey by HIMSS Analytics has concluded that hospital IT executives are steadily turning to cloud technology in an effort to lower maintenance costs while meeting expanding tech needs.
- About 83% of respondents to the survey said they use cloud technology; half of those using the cloud said they use it to host clinical apps.
- Some of the top reasons for cloud use included the exchange of patient data and disaster recovery support.
Dive Insight:
While hospital IT leaders seem more interested in the cloud than they may have been at any time in the past, they're still cautious about which service provider they choose. In particular, security is an issue. Close to 60% of respondents said that the physical security of the cloud service provider would affect which cloud service vendor they used. They also said that a vendor's willingness to enter into a business associate agreement was critical.