The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cloud computing in the healthcare industry

: an analysis of cloud usage in german medical practices

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this study is to analyse the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Cloud Computing (CC) usage in the healthcare industry, using German medical practices to evaluate their usage behaviour before, as in the year of 2019, and during the global pandemic in 2020.Design/Methodology The study employed both qualitative and quantitative research methods. Interviews with experts from the technology and healthcare industry were conducted for the qualitative part. An online customer survey for healthcare professionals from Germany was distributed for the quantitative research part and analysed with statistic tests.FindingsIt has been shown that the COVID-19 pandemic is associated with the usage frequency of cloud solutions for already existing cloud users and the willingness to consider using cloud solutions for non-cloud users amongst German medical practitioners. Additionally, it has been shown that this behaviour is dependent on several demographic factors.Research limitationsThe research is limited by the dependency on the data collection design, the subjectivity of the interviewees and the sample size of the survey. Future research can illuminate these limitations by elaborating on current results and finding root causes.Practical ImplicationsTo stand out from the competition, reach a new clientele of patients, and cover the patient journey, medical practices should use the COVID-19 pandemic to rethink their current usage of technological solutions. Originality To my knowledge, no similar analysis of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on CC usage in the healthcare industry, specifically German medical practices, exists.

Date of Award	20 Oct 2021
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Fabio Caldieraro (Supervisor)