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08/11/2022

Hospitals in Germany are coming under increasing pressure, and not just against the backdrop of the COVID 19 pandemic and the energy crisis. Rolf Kranz, member of the executive board of msg, talks about how the situation can be improved with the help of cloud technologies: For hospitals, their employees and patients.

Mr. Kranz, how can intelligent digital solutions help hospitals in the face of rising costs and the shortage of medical professionals?

With the help of digital solutions, hospitals can modernize and optimize their internal processes and services. The interaction experience of patients can also be improved. This eases staff workload, cuts costs significantly and ensures that patients receive the highest level of care.

So why is the German healthcare system lagging so far behind other sectors - and even European countries - in adapting modern technologies?

There are various reasons for this: For example, the German healthcare sector is highly regulated and complex. In addition, there is a lack of knowledge in many places about the potential of new technologies. Another major obstacle is the existing prejudices against the use of cloud-based technologies.

In what way?

Hardly any other sector deals with such sensitive data. We have to keep in mind that this data reflects the health of persons. Many hospitals are asking themselves where this data is best and most securely stored: in cloud-based infrastructure and technologies or in on-premises solutions. When healthcare institutions opt for on-premises solutions, they hope to maintain data sovereignty and security. Stable access and operation also play another critical role. Plus the ability to permanently delete the data, if required.

What is your assessment of this?

Anyone who thinks that data requiring special protection is safest in their own 'on-premises hosting' is wrong. Data protection and security are directly related to the necessary IT capacities and capabilities, which are often not available. These necessary capacities are provided by cloud-based solutions through their architecture and standard functions and can enable at least the same level of security. This is achieved, for example, by end-to-end encryption in both the processing and storage of the data. This means that neither software providers nor cloud service providers can view the processed data and assign this data to natural persons.

How do cloud-providers such as Microsoft and AWS approach data security?

Cloud providers offer various options for save storing data in encrypted form. Users can bring their own encryption keys into the cloud solution. The hyperscalers do not have access to these keys. The software providers then take care of configuring and using  these keys in a compliant manner and integrating them into their own solution. In addition, the user can stipulate that the applications are only provided in European regions, or in Germany. This makes processing in accordance with legal standards possible. It should not be forgotten that cloud providers provide solutions that enable traceable deletion.

A large amount of data is already collected and processed in hospitals today, such as clinical, patient or empirical data. By 2025, data is expected to grow by an average of 36 percent per year. What does this mean for hospitals?

Most hospitals are already unable to efficiently collect and manage large amounts of data, or even use it to its full potential in terms of improving patient care. Most of the existing data is often stored in data silos, requiring manual entries and updates. If data entries are incorrect or duplicated, it can interfere with treatment or affect the necessary processing steps with payers.

So what should hospitals do now?

In the next five years, almost all application landscapes will be placed in the cloud. This path to digital transformation will not spare hospitals. By using cloud services efficiently, they can save costs because only actual use is billed. Particular attention must be paid to the impact of restricted IT capacities, which will become more acute in the coming years. This is because it often takes a lot of time to operate the IT infrastructure and application landscape on-premises. Hospitals should thus invest funding in modern technology instead of using it for outdated systems with sometimes high follow-up costs.

Which benefits do cloud solutions offer patients?

Cloud solutions can help people become more in control of their own data and thus more self-determined. By making data available regardless of time and place, patients are empowered to take control of their own healthcare. Well-informed patients can better assess healthcare options at an individual level and make decisions for or against therapies more easily – important prerequisites for good, modern patient care.

Further information on this topic can be found in the current whitepaper Migration in die Cloud oder On-Premises-Betriebe – worauf Krankenhäuser bei der Entscheidung achten sollten (migration to the cloud or on-premises operation – what hospitals should look for when making decisions) (available  in German), an initiative of the Münch Foundation (Stiftung Münch) with the participation of msg.