Using cloud technology in health care during the COVID-19 pandemic

There is now increasing recognition of the potential of cloud technologies, which provide data storage and computing resources managed by external service providers, to help improve safety, quality, and efficiency of health care. However, adoption of cloud technology has been variable across health-care organisations, hampered by concerns that the technology might not align with existing methods of quality assurance and governance of privacy, data integrity, and service reliability. The compelling shared purpose and informational needs in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic have provided a powerful incentive to adopt and benefit from fast scale-up of cloud-based solutions. Now that implementers have established this momentum, it is important to be mindful of the compromises and risks associated with these solutions and...