Healthcare institutions in New Zealand have an unprecedented opportunity to take advantage of the full spectrum of cloud-driven technologies, says a white paper published by Microsoft New Zealand.
In Navigating Your Way to the Cloud in Healthcare, Microsoft points to New Zealand’s supportive regulatory framework and range of compliant solutions which it says can streamline operations and reduce costs, provide better connections between patients and care teams, and enable more informed decision-making through analytics.
Cloud computing holds the promise to drive enormous societal and economic benefits at an unprecedented scale and pace, says Microsoft.
Through a series of conversations with healthcare institutions, District Health Boards (DHBs), and other industry stakeholders over a number of years, the Ministry of Health has given a green light to the use of accepted cloud services by healthcare institutions. Whilst matters such as data privacy and security remain at the core of the healthcare regulatory environment in New Zealand and must be addressed as part of any technology adoption, there is now widespread acceptance that cloud services can comply (and even enhance the level of compliance) with the necessary regulatory requirements in New Zealand.
The white paper stresses that successful cloud adoption depends on four inter-related “pillars”:
- Understanding the regulatory landscape
- Full, informed stakeholder involvement
- Partnering with the right cloud services provider
- A robust contract
Under each of these pillars are step-by-step tips for healthcare providers.
The white paper also includes case studies covering digital transformation at Ryman Healthcare and cloud-based analytics dashboards at Stand Children’s Services (a Stellar client).
