Cloud computing demands to increase as e-prescribing grows, report finds

NEW YORK — The growing use of electronic prescribing is driving the growth of cloud computing in health care, according to a new report.

The report, by Kalorama Information, found that the global market for cloud computing in health care would grow to $3.9 billion this year, a 2.1% increase over last year and that use of e-prescribing technologies had jumped from less than 10% in 2004 to about 35% in 2010. Over the next few years, the use of e-prescribing will continue to grow due to regulatory disincentives for using paper patient records. Because of this, retail pharmacies, as well as physician offices and hospitals, will adopt cloud computing systems, which are off-site servers that can store information remotely.

"E-Prescribing creates a variety of storage responsibilities for both the physician and the pharmacy, leading to demand for server space," Kalorama publisher Bruce Carlson said. "In health care, space is often limited, and the last thing organizations want is a bulky server."