So When Does Cloud Based EHR Make Sense?

In recent years there has been a great deal of marketing and press related to cloud based computing. In today’s healthcare market, cloud based computing has a smaller percentage of the market when it comes to implementing an electronic health records system. Across the board, the vast majority of healthcare providers have chosen a server based solution over cloud based computing. When we take a closer look at both options (Server Based – vs- ASP/Cloud Based) offered in the market we find both pros and cons as is common with any solution. First and foremost it is extremely important to determine if the EHR Company you are evaluating offers both Server Based and ASP/Cloud based solutions. In the EHR market most companies offer one solution or the other solution but not both. MD Logic, the leader in high performance EHR solutions, offers both Server Based and ASP/Cloud based solutions to our customers. In offering both solutions, we allow the customer to make the decision on what they feel would be the best solution for their clinic. In addition, the customer is able to transition from one solution to the other solution at any given time.

So what is cloud computing? In a nutshell, cloud computing is a way of outsourcing the hosting of the EHR software on a server. In choosing this option, the customer is not required to purchase a server and all the network software required to operate the EHR software. With a cloud based solution, the customer does not have to hire an IT company to configure and maintain the server. However, not having the server onsite does not mean the customer will not need the support of their local IT company. Many healthcare providers are using wireless technology, touch screen tablets and other electronic equipment to access their EHR software. Since hardware runs off software, there will always be times when your local IT company is required to configure and support the other hardware in the clinic. In cloud based computing, the EHR software is typically hosted at a location outside your clinic. Access to the EHR software is through the customer’s high-speed Internet connection. In order to transfer data (scanned documents, photos, etc.) to the EHR software, each clinic location is required to configure some type of access (typically known as a VPN) allowing documents scanned and images such as photos to be securely transferred via the Internet to the EHR software located outside your clinic location. With a cloud based solution, automatic backups of the health records are performed each day with no need for customer involvement. The drawbacks to ASP/Cloud based computing really come down to four areas:

• The speed a customer will see on their end (with ASP/Cloud Based computing) is largely based on the Internet speed they have at their clinic location.
• With ASP/Cloud Based computing the customer is typically limited on the type of 3rd party programs (outside of the EHR software) that are allowed to be installed on the cloud computing servers. In order to load a 3rd party program on the cloud server, the cloud based company must approve the 3rd party program. Additional installation, configuration and hosting fees are charged to cover the support of the additional 3rd party software.
• ASP/Cloud Based computing is a subscription/rental type of transaction (customer owns their data but does not own any EHR software license). The monthly subscription/rental fee covers the hosting of the EHR software, daily back-ups of the software, software support and should cover future software upgrades of the EHR software. If a customer decides not to pay the monthly subscription/rental fee, then the EHR company can turn off access to the customers EHR software. With the server based option, the customer actually owns the EHR software license that is loaded on the server located at their clinic location.
• The monthly software maintenance fees charged by the EHR vendor for the server based option is substantially less per provider compared to the ASP/Cloud based option. This is due to (2) reasons:

1. With the server based option you own the EHR software license (compared to ASP/Cloud based being a subscription service)
2. With the server based option you own your own server and are not paying the EHR company to host the EHR software on their data servers

Today’s servers (hardware) being marketed and installed at customer locations across the USA are high-end servers that are engineered for speed, stability and are able to grow with any clinic. Customers that choose the server based option do so for the following reasons:

• The customer requires that the patient’s health records are physically located in their clinic on a server that they own
• The customer wants the option of adding any type of 3rd party software to their server without the need to get approval from the EHR company hosting their EHR software
• The customer wants to own their EHR software licenses. When you do the math over a 48-60 month period of time, the financial investment with server based will be less than the ASP/Cloud Based solution.

Tim McKenna, VP of Sales for MD Logic, went on record stating “with MD Logic, the customer is able to choose either option in determining how they want to deploy the MD Logic World Wide EHR software. What I have found in the market are doctors that choose our ASP/Cloud based solution typically do so knowing they don’t want to bother with setting up or managing a server. They prefer to pay the monthly ASP/Cloud based subscription fee knowing it covers all their needs. On the other hand we find the doctors and clinics that choose the server based option do so because they want their patient’s health records located on their server at their location, want the freedom to install any 3rd party program on their server at any given time and understand in the long run that having their own server will be the best overall investment. As a company, it is great to be able to offer both options to our customers. Regardless of the option you choose with MD Logic, you are getting the most productive EHR solution on the market."

To learn more about how your clinic can increase efficiency and profitability, contact our corporate office today at 800-273-7750.