This article examines the role of healthcare providers in driving healthcare payers towards the cloud, exploring the risks and opportunities that healthcare providers face in the digital age.
Fremont, CA: Healthcare expenses in the United States are increasing rapidly, impacting both payers and patients. Research indicates that the cost of a customer service representative (CSR) call can be as high as 6 dollars per contact, making it imperative for payers to reduce costs by enabling members to handle their healthcare bills and communicate with their insurers through online portals. As a result, payers are now revamping their digital interfaces to align with a consumer-centric approach.
The Emergence of Consumerism
The emergence of consumerism brings forth distinctive obstacles and prospects for payers to involve their members. Payers can enlighten patients about preventive healthcare and promote healthy lifestyles by utilizing contemporary technology such as mobile applications, push notifications, and data-driven communications. This not only reduces out-of-pocket expenses for patients but also enhances the brand reputation among consumers while mitigating costs for the payers.
Four Justifications for Payers' Cloud Migration
The previously mentioned trends are causing further strain on the payer's infrastructure. Often, outdated architectures and large proprietary applications are inadequate for the job. While the healthcare sector, and payers specifically, have hesitated to transition to cloud computing, the reasons for doing so are becoming increasingly persuasive. Below are four rationales why chief information officers (CIOs) are embracing a cloud-first approach:
Scalability:
Instead of filling the data center with excessive hardware and software to handle peak loads and remain idle most of the time, the cloud offers users the ability to quickly scale up their computational power as needed. By migrating essential applications to the cloud, organizations can save costs by only paying for the additional resources when required, thus reducing the total cost of ownership (TCO). Furthermore, there is certainty about the availability of resources, as public cloud providers have virtually limitless resources compared to the needs of any single organization.
