Benefits of cloud-based health IT systems
Health IT adoption continues to grow at a rapid rate but
with that, the costs are on their way up too. A recent data from the Medical
Group Management Association (MGMA), medical practices’ annual expenditures for
every full-time physician on IT costs have increased from $15,211 in 2008 to
$19,439 in 2012, showing an increase of 27.8%.
However, health IT is largely benefiting from the power of
cloud to move beyond client-based technologies. Thankfully, cloud-based EHR, practice management and medical billing services
are helping physicians mitigate the rising costs of health IT in these ways.
Low start-up costs
Instead of spending a huge sum of money up-front on
expensive hardware or software in the server-based model, the cloud-based
solutions require virtually no start-up costs because of their ability to use
any current system with a browser and a working internet connection.
No IT staff required
With the server-based model, hardware and software are
housed in your practice, requiring you to hire an in-house IT person or at
least have an IT contractor whenever you develop a problem. As the case with
any other industry, IT problems are common and you would be spending a lot on
troubleshooting the problems whenever there are any.
On the other hand, cloud-based software is entirely managed
by your health IT vendor and you don’t have to worry about repair costs in case
there is any problem. Your data also stays safe because it is on the cloud and
the vendors take care of repairs.
Free upgrades
Unlike server-based models, who can charge you hundreds of
thousands of dollars in case of an update, most of the cloud-based health It
vendors take care of updates and upgrades automatically. The completely
integrated cloud-based solutions allow for updates across the network without
disrupting your workflow.
Want to learn more ways to save your practice money? Read
the “6 Simple Steps to Improve
Practice Revenues” whitepaper.
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