Cloud computing meets traditional healthcare industry

Imagine such a picture: There are many Clouds in the sky, each cloud is a huge data center. When you need to get information or resources, access these clouds by manipulating the terminals in your hands. The internet has no boundaries, and "cloud" is the expression of this image.

Theory and experimentation have been more than 10 years of cloud computing is not a new concept. However, in terms of name and pattern, the concept is born with an incomprehensible and distant temperament. In fact, cloud computing advocates "aggregation", which includes all the hardware and software, including CPU, storage, and network, as well as data, computing power, it architecture and services, which constitute the cloud computing system. NetApp Zhiqiang, marketing director of Greater China, made an image of the analogy, "from the data perspective, cloud computing can be understood as a readily accessible data information bank." Storage is the most important component of cloud computing. ”

Cloud computing is not far away. In February 2011, the federal government issued the federal Cloud Computing strategy white Paper, which means that cloud computing has been raised to the height of the national strategy. The revenue generated by cloud computing's IT innovations will reach $1.1 trillion trillion in 2015, according to a new IDC study.

The development of cloud computing is changing the shape of all walks of life. From the medical industry, although medical equipment has become more and more high-tech, but more and more data, more and more dynamic, only servers and computers have obviously not enough. Cloud computing can give every medical terminal the ability to compute, store, and integrate resources indefinitely, which is now the value of the cloud to medical care.

Information restructuring

The medical profession, which is closely related to everyone, is undergoing a transformation of service patterns. At present, medical Informatization is facing a series of dilemma: The information island phenomenon of hospital internal system is widespread, which leads to low utilization of information and resources, it is difficult for hospital managers to master the business situation comprehensively, and doctors can hardly call patients ' complete historical information; The information system construction between hospitals lacks the overall planning, The system is very different and difficult to integrate.

For a hospital, the traditional need to buy servers, medical equipment, etc. to establish their own IT system, but the hospital information sharing and real-time communication is difficult to put into practice. The future with cloud platform, through the combination of it technology and medical technology and innovative applications, can achieve a lot of things that could not be achieved before. "The impact of cloud computing on the healthcare sector can be divided into several steps: first, to optimize and centralize IT resources, to achieve some kind of sharing, to form a regional system to enjoy IT services," Zhiqiang said. Then, there are changes to new service patterns, such as telemedicine and diagnostics. ”

With the development of regional medical network construction, more and more decision-makers find that how to provide quality clinical data browsing and service for clinical users in the region through regional medical information sharing is the significance of building regional medical network in the future. On the other hand, the advantages of domestic medical resources are concentrated in large hospitals, resource allocation is extremely uneven. Under the concept of cloud computing, through the innovative application of it technology, it is possible to build the platform of Regional medical information system and connect the information sharing and remote diagnosis between the primary hospital and level three hospitals. "Delivering innovative medical services to patients is a trend in the future and the most far-reaching impact of the cloud on the health care system," he said. "Zhiqiang said.

Take the case of a patient with severe disease. They are a special group of hospitals. On the one hand, hospitals must count on every minute of their treatment, so doctors need to use the shortest time, the most convenient way to call patients the most comprehensive information. On the other hand, the patient's survival and recovery are determined by the first aid and postoperative care. How to apply cloud technology in the area of intensive care, so that doctors can immediately call the most comprehensive patient data, and through rapid data analysis to achieve decision support will be a meaningful innovation.

The guardianship of critically ill patients, traditionally by the medical staff set a numerical range, when the patient's body data beyond the scope of the alarm, such as low heart rate, too high, the instrument issued alarm. But if the alarm is to be handled before the worst-case scenario is reached, the requirements for monitoring software and calculation speed will be higher. In this case, "cloud computing" may play a role, the patient monitoring equipment into an "intelligent terminal", to help alleviate the hospital ICU ward staff tension situation, reduce the cost of care.

Can the body recover after the operation and first aid of the severe patient? Care and treatment are particularly important. In addition to reflecting the patient's own life indications, in the future, the therapeutic function will be indispensable. In the past, ventilator, infusion pump and other critically ill patients around the instrument is separate operation, and the future, you can use the cloud computing solution to integrate the monitoring equipment into the hospital information system, so that the patient treatment information more complete.

Platform Innovation

Cloud computing provides a secure, easy to expand open platform. How to build the information terminal on this platform, integrate the dispersed medical resources, realize the trans-geo cure, bridges the bridge between the patient and the hospital information system, need to innovate the medical practice. Zhiqiang again: "Cloud computing" is a rare opportunity, how to effectively use it in medical practice is a new topic.

As a leader in the field of intensive care, Philips was the first to try to apply cloud technology to the monitoring equipment and to do a meaningful and innovative practice. Its "cloud" series of intelligent Monitor built-in "dual processor", one of the chip processing monitor itself information, to do measurement, alarm use; another through Philips-specific "cloud platform"--IPC, with the hospital information system. As the monitor and cloud platform have their own processing system, their storage capacity and computing power have been strengthened, the patient's data can be stored in real time and completely. At the same time, through the setting of some professional parameters and the application of analysis software, the data and its changes are analyzed to help doctors and nurses to master the disease trend of severe patients and find out the changes of patients ' condition, so that the monitoring is changed from "alarm" to "warning".

Its "cloud platform" also makes it possible for all patient information to be tracked and integrated. Through the cloud platform, the monitor can be combined with the hospital information system, and the information scattered in the hospital servers will be fully presented on the bedside monitor. In this case, the cloud platform turns the monitor into an information terminal, in addition to the traditional monitoring equipment can show some of the basic vital signs, including ECG, blood pressure, pulse and so on, can also allow the medical staff on the monitor through the hospital network to quickly and visually a key to access the patient's image information (ct/magnetic resonance/ultrasound results) , test results and so on, and the bedside to complete the doctor's orders, medical records input and management.

The Philips monitoring system, which integrates the cloud platform, can also establish a remote diagnosis service, so that severe patients without the need to transfer can get the guidance of large hospitals, in order to get timely rescue in the local. Philips also introduced the concept of electronic ICU.

Behind the innovation

Philips started production of modular monitors 20 years ago, a technology pioneered by Philips to meet different customer needs. For example, Beijing Concord Hospital, Beijing PLA General Hospital and other three hospitals in the ICU ward very subdivided, divided into central ICU, respiratory ICU, chest outside the ICU. "Philips can provide dozens of different modules to meet the different needs of users in a modular solution." Guo Gangchen, general manager of the Philips Healthcare Greater China care business.

The situation of the patients with severe disease is different, and the life Index and parameters of the guardianship are also emphasized. Philips Cloud monitoring can be customized to meet the needs of different users.

It is not easy to combine hospital management systems with intensive care. According to Guo Gangchen, the United States medical system to establish a relatively perfect, a set of standard reimbursement, pay, management system, which means that the monitoring system can be replicated under the same template. The situation in China is extremely complex, with different provinces, different cities, different levels of hospitals and Chinese and western hospitals, general hospitals and specialist hospitals. So do business in China, especially to understand the needs of customers.

How to master the needs of customers? Philips Healthcare collects customer-related feedback on products and services on a global basis, systematically monitors customer requirements and follow-up to solutions. For example, a client has proposed a "window" for bedside monitoring to facilitate access to ultrasound and MRI films. The technical conditions were not available at the time, but the customer's demand was recorded in the system and embodied in the next generation of product design.

The customer needs collected by the front-line salespeople are also fed back to the global system. Guo Gang has worked in the medical profession for more than more than 20 years, and in order to get a deeper understanding of the customer's needs, every trip to visit the local customers is the habit he has maintained for many years. "Innovation is a gene rooted in Philips, emphasizing deep insight into customer needs and helping them solve a problem," Guo Gang said: "If we collect 10,000 of the same feedback from Philips customers around the world, it will be a breakthrough for innovation." ”

Philips has a unique culture of innovation (51.660,-1.14,-2.16%). At a multi-regional high-level meeting, the first thing to do at each meeting is to share customer needs and opinions. The senior executives take turns to speak for 5-10 minutes each. The latest share of the meeting was the case for a new specialist hospital to develop a solution. Philips's continuous innovation is based on the feedback and demand of every small customer.