Cloud computing has a huge potential to modernise healthcare delivery, increase efficiency and drive down costs by pooling resources. However significant hurdles need to be lifted before the cloud can realize its full potential in the healthcare domain. COCIR therefore applauds the Commission's initiative to leverage cloud computing to deliver the EU2020 strategy and mobilised key technology thought leaders to respond to the Commission's consultation on cloud computing.

Our input will feed into the forthcoming revision of the Data Protection Directive (COCIR contribution to the November 2010 consultation) and to the forthcoming European strategy on cloud computing. However work is not finished.

Much remains to be done to mainstream the use of cloud computing in healthcare. COCIR keeps the momentum and will prepare a healthcare industry vision on the cloud by end of this year, with concrete recommendations to address the barriers identified by our industry members.

• Need for harmonisation, simplification and clarification of the current legal framework in the EU, as the current legal framework is not favourable to using cloud computing in the healthcare domain.
• Need for strong infrastructures (e.g. high-bandwidth availability) and stronger security and privacy mechanisms to avoid data breaches and server outages. This requires economic stimulus at both the national and EU levels.
• Need for open interoperability standards - while avoiding strict technology mandates - to allow true cloud computing interoperability.
  Need for standard voluntary and industry-led service level agreements to bring confidence to the business community.
• Need for further research on a number of areas such as server resilience; data continuity, elasticity and portability; security (including authentication, authorisation, encryption technology); shared servers, cloud service infrastructures and multi-composition; data centres energy consumption, etc.

<media 264>COCIR contribution to the Commission’s consultation on cloud computing</media>

<media 265>COCIR eHealth toolkit (cloud computing definition)</media>