Harnessing and securing cloud in patient health monitoring

A first proposal to use a secure open cloud architecture (OpenCloudCare) for remote patient health monitoring defines the front end and back end architecture that would integrate healthcare devices into the enterprise cloud. This service oriented architecture (SOA) uses existing open source resources for easy implementation, migration and rapid deployment. The introduction of the atlas middleware in the cloud environment enables scalable integration of devices as software services without worrying on hardware details. OpenCloudCare has the potential to enable the independent living for the aged people with minimal cost. Like Amazon EC2, OpenCloudCare can emerge as the de-facto platform, on which different vendors and developers can offer wider range of services using existing devices and enterprise applications. The benefits of migrating existing patient monitoring systems into cloud and the migrating process are also discussed. The major components required for securing the cloud infrastructure are also identified. Complying with the federal requirements on electronic health record (EHR) protection is the major challenge.