ChromeOS for HealthCare

I have been reading a article on linkedin about Google and Microsoft's jousting for the Health IT dollar. It is suggesting that ChromeOS may be the key for Google. First 99% of all EHRs, PMS and Health Financial Systems run on Microsoft. Many of these are desktop applications that use Citrix to emulate an enterprise system. ChromeOS and Google Health is all about Cloud computing. It is a bit of a step to see Google in any health business in the near future besides PHR (Personal Health Record) and they have quite a bit of catch-up to do to equal the features of MS Health Vault. But, with enough money and time you can do anything.

Many Healthcare facility HIT departments are run by desktop IT personnel and the Cloud architecture is quite a leap. In saying that, people can be trained and things do change but very slowly and at a cost. I know of one hospital in Central Oregon that is looking at implementing their third EMR because the wrong people were making the wrong decisions.

Cloud technology is not new, It has been in every major industry for a long time. It could save the healthcare industry hundreds of millions of dollars. By hosting a system you reduce your personnel overhead, maintenace, and capital equipment cost. You gain "Ecomomies of Scale" by utilizing shared resources. With a true cloud architected system, you reduce the cost of your client machines, i.e., netbooks or mobile devices instead of tablets and laptops. This is where ChromeOS comes into play and provides a considerable cost saving for the client. The Operating System is free just like Android for the Smartphones, which reduces your cost considerably. Ask your IT department for a report on MS licening for your facility if you do not believe me. Another feature is increased security. With no storage on the clients machine (netbooks, smartphones) you know longer have to worry about laptops being lost or stolen.

The potential for HIT saving with cloud technology is just starting to be realized. Think about this example. You pay for your EMR via subscription which run via Cloud, the patient data is stored in a HealthBank where the customer owns and pays for the storage, and you can access the data from anywhere because it is all in the Cloud.

Jeff