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Safety always: the challenges of cloud computing in medical practice and ophthalmology

Eye volume 37, pages 2436–2437 (2023)Cite this article

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Cloud computing is defined as the on-demand availability of computing power and data storage, facilitated by a network of remotely located computer servers and able to be accessed from multiple remote locations simultaneously [1]. This is in contrast to traditional computing in which these services are facilitated by a local server on the user’s personal computer [2]. Familiar examples of cloud computing systems include Google Sheets and the Apple iCloud Calendar. The use of cloud computing in medicine is growing at an exponential rate and has initiated a widespread shift in the way data are handled in healthcare. However, this technology comes with risks. In 2021 alone, over 40 million copies of cloud-stored patient data were compromised [3]. Cloud computing may have significant implications for the security of patient data and must be implemented with caution.

Cloud computing is a system allowing users on-demand access to a suite of computing resources, including data storage, database servers, software, and analytics, over the internet [1]. This eliminates the need to purchase and maintain computing hardware locally [2]. Entities essentially rent access to whatever combination of services they require, at the time they require them [1]. Cloud computing can provide any computer service that does not require the user to be physically close to the hardware [4]. Examples include the Google Cloud Platform, a suite of cloud computing services operated by the internet giant including Google Docs, Google Calendar and Gmail, as well as Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services [5,6,7,8].

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Queensland, Herston, QLD, 4006, Australia

    James Pietris

  2. Health and Information, Adelaide, SA, Australia

    James Pietris, Stephen Bacchi, Yiran Tan, Joshua Kovoor, Aashray Gupta & WengOnn Chan

  3. University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, 5005, Australia

    Stephen Bacchi, Yiran Tan, Joshua Kovoor, Aashray Gupta & WengOnn Chan

  4. Royal Adelaide Hospital, Adelaide, SA, 5000, Australia

    Stephen Bacchi, Yiran Tan, Joshua Kovoor & WengOnn Chan

  5. Flinders University, Bedford Park, SA, 5042, Australia

    Stephen Bacchi & Yiran Tan

Authors
  1. James Pietris
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  2. Stephen Bacchi
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  4. Joshua Kovoor
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  5. Aashray Gupta
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  6. WengOnn Chan
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Contributions

JP and SB were involved in formulating the concept for the manuscript. JP wrote the initial manuscript draft. SB, YT, JK, and AG contributed to the revisions of the manuscript. WC oversaw the project and contributed to revisions of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to James Pietris.

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Pietris, J., Bacchi, S., Tan, Y. et al. Safety always: the challenges of cloud computing in medical practice and ophthalmology. Eye 37, 2436–2437 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41433-022-02372-0

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