KLAS: Health Orgs Report Better Care Coordination with Microsoft Cloud

A new report from KLAS Research found that most healthcare organizations experienced reduced costs and shorter project timelines, with many reporting improved care coordination, while using Microsoft Cloud technologies.

The report outlines various cloud service layers, such as software as a service (SaaS), platform as a service (PaaS), and infrastructure as a service (IaaS) in addition to the technology associated with each layer, the surrounding professional services, and where Microsoft customers have focused their efforts so far.

Eight healthcare organizations interviewed for the report use Microsoft Cloud’s SaaS solutions, and 88 percent said they use the vendor’s PaaS or IaaS offerings. None of the interviewed organizations had moved their entire IT infrastructure to the cloud under Microsoft or any other cloud providers.

However, one organization reported moving a significant portion of their IT infrastructure to the cloud, and two others reported using Microsoft’s offerings alongside a third-party vendor that hosts their EMRs in its own private cloud. Overall, 62 percent of organizations reported using multiple cloud platforms.

In terms of overall performance, as scored by all organizations out of 100, Microsoft Cloud received an 86.1. All eight organizations stated that Microsoft Cloud avoids nickel-and-diming and is part of their long-term plans. They also said they would repurchase the offerings. However, only 60 percent said that Microsoft Cloud technologies kept all its promises. In contrast, a previous report indicates that 89 percent of organizations would say the same for Amazon Web Services (AWS).

In terms of use cases, a majority of the organizations reported that they use Microsoft Cloud for core IT operations, but only 38 percent use it for patient and member engagement or product development. A quarter of respondents indicated that they use the technology for care coordination.

The key benefits these organizations experience from using Microsoft Cloud include improved efficiency, better care, and cost savings, according to the report. Specifically, 63 percent reported shorter project timelines or reduced costs for specific areas, and 38 percent reported improved care coordination. A quarter of organizations also saw improved security.

The report also asked participants about the selection process and considerations that led them to choose Microsoft, focusing on why they chose the cloud provider over AWS or Google Cloud Platform (GCP).

Reasons for selecting Microsoft varied, but 88 percent of organizations cited familiarity with the vendor and its products as the primary reason. Less than 40 percent selected security capabilities, software bundling, or other factors as the main consideration driving the choice.

Though these factors are tied to why organizations chose Microsoft over AWS or GCP as their primary cloud provider, 75 percent of organizations reported that they either selected AWS as a secondary provider or strongly considered selecting it. Half somewhat considered or selected GCP as their secondary provider. But the other half didn’t consider GCP at all.

KLAS Research plans to release a similar report with an in-depth evaluation of GCP.