Transforming Risk to Reward in Healthcare through Cloud Storage

Healthcare institutions face an increasing challenge in protecting patient data, research, and medical imagery while maintaining a predictable, secure, and compliant economic model.  

As healthcare costs continue to rise, consumer expectations evolve, from how you deliver information related to their care to how they can connect with you. Efficiency is essential in healthcare, so AI and machine learning (ML) tools are increasingly explored to save valuable time and enhance patient experience. New technologies are enabling better patient experiences and simplifying workloads, and they rely upon robust cloud storage capacity and increasingly complex data management solutions.  

Where do you turn when secure, compliant, and scalable storage becomes imperative to your success? 

Controlling costs is foundational 

The equation is simple: when healthcare providers can drive costs down and save money, money saved can be used to deliver new patient services and improve outcomes. Though long-term data storage has become a drain on the healthcare IT budget, it remains non-negotiable. Patient data retention requirement periods are long; for instance, some pediatric records must be kept until the patient reaches 28-31 years of age. With emerging technologies like medical image archiving (Vendor Neutral Archive [VNA]) and AI/ML-driven image analysis, storage demands are increasing exponentially. 

Healthcare providers undergo regular data audits (SOC-2), and failures can result in fines averaging around $175,000. Additionally, ransomware attacks have driven cyber insurance costs up by 500%. These requirements, alongside financial pressures, necessitate an affordable, predictably-priced cloud storage platform that meets all compliance and data security requirements. Wasabi delivers flat-rate pricing with no hidden fees for data movement, ensuring compliance and cost stability for healthcare providers. 

Enabling digital health transformation 

The pandemic accelerated the shift toward virtual care and telehealth, making digital healthcare the new normal. Patients now expect a seamless, consumer-like experience and evaluate providers accordingly. To meet these expectations, healthcare institutions must embrace cloud-based data solutions that enable telehealth and remote patient monitoring. 

With Wasabi, healthcare providers benefit from a cloud platform that is easy to use—no IT expertise is required. The simplicity of Wasabi's interface allows providers to focus on delivering patient care rather than managing complex storage systems. How we enable healthcare transformation: 

• Cloud-based data accessibility — By storing your data in the Wasabi cloud, you ensure telehealth services are always available. 

• Wasabi Account Control Manager — Our single-pane-of-glass console increases efficiencies across your IT team by enabling centralized management and provisioning of cloud storage across departments. 

Rising to the challenges of data security and compliance 

Regardless of where you’re storing patient data, cybersecurity threats, including ransomware attacks, continue to rise, making data protection efforts more critical than ever. Wasabi provides a suite of free security features that ensure HIPAA compliance and safeguard various types of healthcare data, including electronic medical records (EMR/EHR), medical imagery (PACS and VNA), and back-office applications. Key Wasabi security features include: 

• Industry-standard features — Tools like Multi-Factor Authentication and Single Sign-On are part of the foundational best practices that ensure user accounts remain secure. 

• Multi-User Authentication — Unique to Wasabi, this tool provides an additional layer of protection preventing the deletion of storage accounts by a malicious actor. You can designate up to three members of your organization as security contacts who must sign off on any account deletion requests. 

• Object lock and immutability—Object lock prevents data from being tampered with, deleted, or overwritten for a specified period of time, providing robust governance controls for record integrity and data immutability. Object lock is especially useful in meeting legal and financial requirements and other compliance standards across a range of industries. 

• Egress monitoring and bucket logging — We enable simpler tracking of data access and movement for security audits. 

• Secure and free replication — Saving your data to one of our other storage regions enhances data availability and bolsters disaster recovery capabilities. 

• Wasabi Direct Connect — When you need to migrate your data to Wasabi, we offer a high-speed, private, secure connection from your on-prem data center or colocation site. You’ll reduce network costs, increase bandwidth, and provide a dependable network experience for your organization. 

Beyond patient and system data protection, physical security is also paramount. Hospitals and biotech institutions must safeguard patient safety, prevent unauthorized access, and maintain regulatory compliance by retaining more surveillance video footage for longer retention periods. Wasabi Surveillance Cloud addresses these needs by providing an added layer of security to your video surveillance system. 

Conclusion 

Healthcare providers are uniquely positioned to reimagine how they deliver services. By migrating and securing more data in the cloud, you leverage the power and scale necessary to drive widespread transformation. Wasabi is an ideal partner in this transformation, offering a secure, cost-effective, and easy-to-use cloud platform.  

Will your team be at the 2025 HIMSS conference? If so, meet us in the Carahsoft demo area on March 5, 2025.