Amazon, Google and Microsoft are among the big tech companies vying for deals as hospitals and health systems transition to cloud-based data storage, according to the Wall Street Journal.
More hospitals are transitioning to the cloud as their data storage methods become outdated. Replacing data centers and software can be more expensive than teaming up with a tech company, as hospitals cannot buy equipment as cheaply as tech giants, according to Gregg Pessin, a healthcare technology analyst at Gartner.
Earlier this month, Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic tapped Google to store the health system's medical, genetic and financial data. Mayo Clinic confirmed that it will still control access to patient records.
"Google can't do this alone. We can't do this alone," Cris Ross, CIO at Mayo Clinic, told WSJ.
Renton, Wash.-based Providence St. Joseph Health in July teamed up with Microsoft. Per the agreement, Microsoft will store the health systems data on the cloud.
Mayo Clinic and other health systems are making these deals to leverage the algorithms in development at tech companies. These algorithms can be used to improve the speed and accuracy of tests that screen for disease, reports WSJ.
In turn, Google is able to use the data from Mayo Clinic to develop new algorithms and solutions. Google is opening an office in Rochester for engineers during the three-year timeframe it will take to move Mayo Clinic's data to the cloud.