Skip to main content
. 2018 Jul 11;20(7):e10041. doi: 10.2196/10041

Table 3.

Specificities of cloud computing for health care.

Number Specificity Previous understanding Type
1 CCa relies on SaaSb PaaSc and IaaSd in general are as relevant as SaaS Type 1e
2 CC increases data security and interoperability Low data security and interoperability as CC’s downside Type 1
3 If any, CC only brings economic benefits in the long term Reduced costs by using CC in general Type 1
4 CC focuses on clinical tasks Health ITf traditionally supports more management areas Type 2g
5 CC supports patient-centeredness Health IT products are traditionally heavily physician-centered Type 2
6 CC increases service mobility and flexibility Health IT traditionally suffers from inflexible service access Type 2
7 CC facilitates collaboration in clinical areas Insufficient capabilities of traditional health IT to support collaboration Type 2

aCC: cloud computing.

bSaaS: software as a service.

cPaaS: platofrm as a service.

dIaaS: infrastructure as a service.

eThe specificity challenges what we have learned about CC in a general context.

fIT: information technology.

gThe specificity challenges what we have learned about traditional health IT.