SaaS platforms drive global healthcare digital revolution
DELAWARE, UNITED STATES — As healthcare organizations worldwide seek to modernize their digital infrastructure, HealthTech Magazine reports that Software as a Service (SaaS) is emerging as a transformative force.
SaaS, a cloud-based software delivery and licensing model, enables providers to access applications online via subscription rather than traditional installation methods. This shift is accelerating the adoption of new technologies across hospitals, clinics, and private practices.
Journalist Nathan Eddy writes that by migrating to the cloud, providers will save money, treat patients more effectively, and manage more complex security needs, while staying up-to-date with emerging technologies, including AI.
SaaS accelerates digital transformation in healthcare
According to Craig Connors, Vice President and Chief Technology Officer of Infrastructure and Security at Cisco, SaaS offers a way of delivering and licensing software that is cloud-based.
“Applications are accessed online by subscription rather than purchased and installed on the user’s device,” he told HealthTech Magazine.
The change will accelerate the implementation of the most essential tools, particularly in areas such as telehealth and virtual care, where speed is crucial.
According to Forrester senior healthcare analyst Shannon Germain Farraher, newer platforms are available in SaaS formats that are scalable and HIPAA-compliant, acting as a virtual data center. They can utilize these solutions to pilot an innovative idea within a healthcare organization, driving innovation in an industry that has not historically responded quickly.
“SaaS platforms provide scalable, HIPAA-compliant environments that function like virtual data centers, helping tackle operational and clinical challenges more affordably,” Farraher says.
SaaS provides service providers with a 360-degree view of patient data, enhancing interoperability and simplifying service delivery, including revenue cycle management.
Cost efficiency and scalability drive adoption
Customary healthcare IT systems are often accompanied by excessive maintenance and inflexibility. Aaron Smith, principal cybersecurity engineer at Quest Software, suggests that SaaS effectively resolves these challenges by converting capital investments into operational expenditures.
“With SaaS, backup and recovery tools can be centralized, automated and tested more easily than in many on-premises environments,” Smith says.
The vendors may upscale and downscale services according to their requirements, minimizing the overhead incurred in infrastructure and ensuring that standards such as Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR) are met, thereby facilitating the smooth interchange of data.
According to Zendesk Chief Information Officer (CIO) Craig Flower, purchasing SaaS solutions enables healthcare organizations to stay up-to-date with fast-developing technologies, such as AI.
“Choosing to buy software rather than build it allows healthcare organizations to accelerate speed to market and stay current with rapid technological advances such as artificial intelligence,” Craig explains.
Security and AI integration shape the future of healthcare SaaS
Security is a major concern, as there is an increasing adoption of SaaS. Flower stresses that evidence shows data governance should be set overtly, and only the mature and secure services should manage Protected Health Information (PHI).
Meanwhile, Smith continues to emphasize that mitigating risks in cloud environments requires a zero-trust mindset, characterized by multifactor authentication and stringent access controls. The primary goal is to be a transparent provider and SaaS vendor, ensuring compliance.
Smith cites AI-based clinical decision support systems and patient triage, and IBM’s General Manager for public sector, healthcare and life sciences, Frank Attaie, discusses how machine learning enables the derivation of useful insights by analyzing data on a large scale.
“Ultimately, they also help healthcare organizations build cost savings and efficiencies to further invest in growth, patient-oriented applications and new services,” Attaie says.
However, as Smith warns, AI must be explainable and thoroughly tested and should not replace clinical judgment but rather supplement it. Effective governance will play a crucial role as the healthcare industry moves toward utilizing SaaS solutions driven by AI.
“Healthcare organizations need clear governance for how AI is deployed, reviewed and corrected when it fails,” Smith stressed.
Amid the prospects of integrating AI, providers need to combine both innovative approaches and effective governance to guarantee patient safety and optimal performance.
