Expanding Children's Hospitals Leveraging Cloud Technologies for Increased Capacity

In the ever-evolving landscape of healthcare, children's hospitals are embracing a significant shift – the rise of cloud deployments. This shift, as reported by CHIME, signifies a move towards outsourcing the most technical aspects of data management, allowing organizations to focus on their core mission: providing the best possible care for children.

One such institution leading the charge is Children's National Hospital in Washington, D.C., a world-renowned leader in pediatric medicine research and innovation. The hospital's researchers now have a scalable and secure "landing zone" in Amazon Web Services (AWS), accessible through their personal accounts, where they can store data, spin up servers, and utilise various workflows and services.

This move towards the cloud is not exclusive to Children's National. Children's Health of Orange County (CHOC) is also leveraging cloud services, primarily through AWS and Microsoft Azure, for various tasks including internal application development, hosting, and supporting clinical researchers.

The benefits of this transition are manifold. Mark Hoffman, chief research information officer at Children's Mercy Kansas City, anticipates improved data storage and processing, less maintenance, and easier collaboration for researchers. Mihailo Kaplarevic, his counterpart at Children's National, shares similar sentiments.

The need for storage and computer power at Children's National Hospital is substantial, given the large amounts of data they analyse. The hospital has been using the cloud for many years, but previously had limited access to cloud-based platforms suitable for medical research. This is no longer the case, thanks to strategic partnerships with tech giants like AWS.

Ted Baker, from CDW, emphasises the enhanced security that cloud service providers can offer. He states that such providers can spend more on security and improve an organisation's resilience in response to cyberthreats.

This shift towards digital technologies is not a new trend. The first children's hospital was established in Paris in the early 1800s, and today, there are an estimated 250 children's hospitals in the U.S. alone. These institutions have adapted to make the most of digital technologies, aiming for better information mobility and actionable insights from medical data.

The COVID-19 pandemic has further highlighted the importance of healthcare tailored to children. As research continues to advance, institutions like Children's National Hospital are at the forefront, studying various pediatric diseases, including childhood brain cancers and congenital brittle-bone disorders, at their Center for Genetic Medicine Research.

Meanwhile, Children's Mercy Kansas City's Children's Mercy Research Institute's Genomic Medicine Center is a national leader in genomic sequencing focused on rare and inherited pediatric diseases. The institute is using the cloud, particularly Azure, for its data analysis, having moved over 4 petabytes of data offsite and expecting to shut down onsite systems within a year.

The strategic choices made by healthcare IT leaders, such as the adoption of advanced digital healthcare models, are aimed at improving efficiency and patient outcomes. Institutions like Children's National Hospital, CHOC, and Children's Mercy Kansas City are leading the way, leveraging the power of the cloud to drive innovation and deliver better care for children.

In 2021, Children's National opened the Children's National Research & Innovation Campus (RIC), a property designed to nurture innovation from discovery to commercialization. As these institutions continue to push the boundaries of what is possible, the future of children's healthcare looks bright indeed.