October 31, 2011
University of California, San Diego - The UCSD Health System has begun using cloud computing to receive imaging work from remote medical centers and hospitals to expedite treatment of trauma patients.
By Rama Ramaswami, Dian Schaffhauser
Arizona State University
Arizona State University was the first to do a large-scale student deployment of Google Apps for
Education, the cloud-based set of online e-mail, collaboration, and productivity tools. The move
away from on-premises applications benefited IT because it no longer had to concern itself with
managing software licenses for the entire student population, nor did it have to make sure hardware
was compatible with software. "This is something that is truly available anywhere at any time," says
Sam DiGangi, the university's associate vice president of university technology and an associate
professor of education. To use the applications, all the user needs is access to a browser and internet
connection.
The cloud enables collaboration among team members, too. The obvious example is enabling a group
of students to cowrite a document. But it doesn't stop there. It also provides a way for collaborating
organizations to share data.
University of California, San Diego
The UCSD Health System has begun using cloud computing to receive imaging work from remote
medical centers and hospitals to expedite treatment of trauma patients. Previously, files stored on CD
were often transported by ambulance with the patient to the UC facility. If the CD disappeared or
wasn't readable, earlier treatments and tests would have to be duplicated. Now, utilizing eMix, an
electronic medical information exchange from DR Systems, the trauma center can access a website
to pull the images needed for patient care.
"The efficiency and reliability of cloud computing is excellent," says Jeanne Lee, trauma surgeon at
UCSD Health System and assistant clinical professor of surgery at the university's school of medicine.
"It is an advance in the way we exchange medical information between healthcare facilities. This
benefits our trauma patients for diagnoses and treatment, and cuts down on redundant imaging."
About the Authors
Rama Ramaswami is an editorial director at Ernst & Young LLP. She is based in New York City.
Dian Schaffhauser is a writer who covers technology and business for a number of publications.
Contact her at
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