Is cloud technology the new necessity for innovation and productivity in digital health?

Is cloud technology the new necessity for innovation and productivity in digital health?

Is cloud technology the new necessity for innovation and productivity in digital health?

September 23, 2025

What a difference the cloud makes - why GPs need to look up when seeking software
Matthew Galetto - Founder and CEO MediRecords

Ask anyone working in digital health today, particularly those investing or looking for solutions to support new models of care, and they’ll tell you: all innovation is happening in the cloud. From startups launching AI diagnostic tools, coding agents, and voice assistants for booking and admin, to government projects aimed at connecting national health systems, everything modern is being built on cloud infrastructure.

Cloud is no longer a technology trend. It is the new normal.

At MediRecords, we see this shift as driven by more than convenience or cost-cutting. It is structural, it is inevitable, and it is being driven by real demand and expectations from service providers, clinicians, and most importantly, patients. In 2025, cloud-based technology has become the clearest signal of innovation in healthcare and the most practical way to achieve the productivity gains the system so urgently needs.

Whether you are a startup, a health service, or a government agency, cloud is no longer a nice-to-have. It is the bare minimum, and every new dollar of investment is chasing it.

Why cloud matters in digital health

The cloud is not just another way to host software. It is a different way to build, deliver, and keep improving it. Here’s why cloud-native solutions are leading the way:

  • Real interoperability: National health infrastructure is API-based, and that is where the future is heading. My Health Record, IHI, Provider Connect Australia, and the Service Locator are all part of an API ecosystem. Cloud-native systems are built to plug into these environments seamlessly, supporting information sharing at the point of care with the reliability and resilience of cloud hosting.
  • AI enablement: From clinical decision support to smart assistants and summarisation tools, AI runs best where it was designed to, on the cloud. Cloud makes AI scalable, secure, and accessible without the need for costly hardware. At the Medical Software Industry Association (MSIA) forum in July, AI was called out as both an opportunity and a risk. AI scribes, triage tools and predictive analytics are recognised as critical enablers of safety and efficiency, but there are also new cyber threats, with attackers using generative tools to launch sophisticated campaigns. Cloud platforms offer the enterprise-grade security, zero-trust frameworks and rapid patching that healthcare now requires.
  • Data-driven care: Cloud platforms unlock live analytics and reporting that go far beyond static PDFs or siloed spreadsheets. Think population health insights, service delivery metrics, and predictive alerts, available in real time.
  • Lower overheads: No servers to manage and no on-site maintenance. Cloud reduces the total cost of ownership while accelerating change. Less drag, more delivery.
  • Always up to date: Continuous upgrades mean your platform improves every few weeks, not every few years. That is the speed clinicians and patients expect today.
  • Productivity through scale and innovation: Cloud is not just about what is possible today, it is about what becomes possible tomorrow. From smarter workflows and automation to seamless integrations and flexible deployment models, cloud platforms open new ways of working. Providers can scale efficiently, deploy services faster, and deliver care in ways that traditional systems cannot support.

Cloud as the productivity engine

The recent MSIA conference sharpened this focus. Digital health reform is no longer about modernisation for its own sake; it is about driving system-wide productivity. Rising demand, workforce shortages and growing administrative burden mean the health system must deliver more with less.

Cloud-native platforms, built on FHIR standards and national interoperability, enable real-time data sharing, automation and AI in ways that reduce duplication, shorten wait times, and free up clinicians for patient care.

Seen this way, cloud is more than a proxy for innovation. It is the engine of productivity. In health, innovation and productivity are inseparable. Innovation that does not deliver productivity will not scale, and productivity gains without innovation will stall.

Government signals: Cloud as a strategic pillar

The federal government’s Sharing by Default Act 2025 is a milestone, requiring pathology and diagnostic imaging results to flow automatically into My Health Record. The upcoming National Digital Medicines Strategy (2025–2030) will go further, embedding interoperable, cloud-enabled medicines management into the foundations of the system.

Policy language now makes it clear: “information sharing by default, near real time, at the point of care” is the goal. That is only achievable with cloud-native systems that speak fluent API.

Procurement patterns are already shifting. It is increasingly difficult to win a government contract or even make it to tender without being cloud-enabled.

Clinicians are also driving this change. Next-generation doctors are digital natives. They expect intuitive, mobile-responsive, fast-evolving tools that feel more like Spotify or Canva than clunky desktop software. Patients expect the same: digital front doors, secure portals to access personal information, cost transparency, and notifications that help them manage their care.

Investment dollars also tell the story. Every new venture-backed digital health company in Australia is building for the cloud. There is simply no appetite to fund new on-premise apps.

Finally, security is no longer a barrier to cloud, it is a benefit. Cloud platforms provide enterprise-grade security, encrypted communications, and high availability that far exceed what most local deployments can offer. In today’s environment, cloud has become the safer, more resilient choice.

Evidence that digital maturity and connected systems delivers results

The evidence for digital transformation in Australia is compelling.

  • Queensland’s transition to integrated digital hospitals achieved a 40% reduction in medication incidents and a 70% reduction in prescribing errors. 
  • Digital-first cardiac rehabilitation programs have demonstrated up to 71% reductions in readmission bed days, proving that connected care can improve outcomes and reduce costs. 
  • Studies of digital maturity in Queensland health services show that higher-maturity, interoperable systems are associated with better patient experience, improved staff satisfaction, and perceptions of safer care. 

Cloud as the path to digital maturity

These improvements arise from digital maturity, not hosting models alone. But cloud is increasingly the only realistic way to achieve and sustain that maturity at scale. Recent Australian examples demonstrate the benefits. NSW Health’s migration of clinical applications to AWS Cloud improved application performance, halved the time to deploy new environments, and freed clinicians from manual IT work. A trans-Tasman review of 66 cloud-enabled healthcare use cases found consistent gains in productivity, patient access, and system equity. And in community pharmacy, electronic prescribing and digital medication records, often delivered via cloud platforms, have streamlined workflows and improved medication safety.

Cloud does not just enable new technology; it provides the structural resilience, interoperability, and scalability that allow digital systems to deliver measurable improvements in outcomes and efficiency.

MediRecords: A case study in cloud-driven innovation

MediRecords was built in the cloud from day one, not retrofitted or migrated. That foundation lets us partner with the most forward-thinking health programs, providers, and digital vendors across the country.

We are already helping modern care models take shape:

  • Telehealth providers using MediRecords to deliver digital-first consultations without legacy drag.
  • AI partners are integrating with our APIs to provide summarisation, smart triage, and workflow automation.
  • Analytics through our soon-to-be-released Clarity module, giving providers real-time insights into service usage, clinician performance, and patient outcomes.

We connect natively with Australia’s API-based government digital infrastructure, ensuring our customers can operate seamlessly across national systems. Our containerised implementation of OntoServer (CSIRO’s terminology server) provides scalable clinical decision support and structured interoperability as a managed service.

Just as importantly, our open APIs empower healthcare organisations to shape their own digital future by connecting enterprise systems, building digital front doors for patients, and innovating beyond the clinic walls.

Conclusion: The cloud test

If you are evaluating a new digital health solution, whether it’s practice management, patient engagement, analytics or anything related, ask this first: is it cloud-native?

If not, it is already out of step with:

  • Where government policy is going
  • Where clinicians and patients expect to be
  • Where investment dollars are flowing

In 2025, cloud is not just infrastructure. It is the benchmark for innovation and productivity in digital health.

In healthcare, innovation that does not deliver productivity is unsustainable. Productivity gains without innovation pathways, quickly erode. Cloud is where the two converge, and where the future of healthcare is being built.

References

  1. Queensland Health. Digital Hospital Benefits Realisation Report. Cited in MSIA, 2021.
  2. Neubeck L, et al. Digital cardiac rehabilitation: systematic review and meta-analysis. Eur J Prev Cardiol. 2020.
  3. Woodruffe S, et al.  Effects of a digitally enabled cardiac rehabilitation intervention on risk factors, recurrent hospitalization and mortality: a randomized controlled trial. European Heart Journal – Digital Health. 2025
  4. Adler-Milstein J, et al. Evaluating Digital Health Capability at Scale Using the Digital Health Indicator. Appl Clin Inform. 2021.
  5. Thiru K, et al. Perceived Impact of Digital Health Maturity on Patient and Staff Experience in Queensland. Int J Med Inform. 2023.
  6. eHealth NSW. Case Study: Clinical Applications Migrated to AWS Cloud. 2022.
  7. AWS Institute. Benefits of Cloud-Enabled Healthcare in Australia & New Zealand. 2022.
  8. Hussain R, et al. Electronic health records and e-prescribing in Australian community pharmacies. Int J Med Inform. 2024.

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Solve Healthcare Challenges with MediRecords APIs
 
 

June 13, 2024

Solve Healthcare Challenges with MediRecords APIs

Effective management and secure sharing of clinical data are essential ingredients for providing safe, high-quality patient care.

However, healthcare providers often encounter challenges, from incompatible software systems to co-ordination issues among healthcare teams. In an effort to break down these barriers, MediRecords has developed a comprehensive suite of APIs to streamline data sharing processes and help improve patient outcomes.

FHIR APIs: Elevating data management in healthcare

MediRecords’ FHIR APIs give you better access to and control of your clients’ clinical data by facilitating the management and sharing of patient records. From encounters to prescriptions, allergies to immunisations, these APIs offer a robust way to handle diverse sets of patient information. By enabling interoperability between systems, FHIR APIs ensure that critical data is accessible whenever and wherever it’s needed.

Connect APIs: Seamless integration for enhanced patient care

Complementing our FHIR APIs, MediRecords’ Connect suite of proprietary REST APIs offers a tailored solution for managing patient administrative data and other crucial information. From appointments to practitioner sessions, these APIs facilitate seamless communication and coordination among healthcare providers, resulting in more efficient care delivery.

FHIR & MediRecords APIs

FHIR is the future standard for health data interoperability. MediRecords has enabled FHIR as a mechanism for secure data exchange, including with hospital systems.

MediRecords has various APIs, including:

Patient

Securely exchange patient data with 3rd party systems, import patient records or notes into your database, create surveys and web forms to update the patient database, and update patient files from remote hardware devices or services.

Appointments

Our platform offers medical integration & scheduling with 3rd party booking systems & the ability to sync multiple clinicians' calendars to improve patient flows. We also provide reporting software integration for recurrence & patient 'no-shows'.

Correspondence

Easily filter & arrange correspondence in MediRecords and third-party applications. Initiate reporting, create actions or follow-ups, and use webhooks to push correspondence triggers.

Configuration

Utilise 'custom fields' in patient records to introduce additional patient identifiers. You can also create, update, and delete tags to categorise patient records and improve searching and filtering.

Key challenges MediRecords can address through APIs
  1. Integrated appointment booking: You can eliminate scheduling conflicts and incomplete calendars by enabling patient booking and appointment management across systems. For example, external booking software can be used to populate your MediRecords appointments calendar.
  2. Secure communication of clinical information: Ensure effective and safe communication of clinical information through secure sharing of patient material, including referrals and medical certificates, with data clinically coded to SNOMED standards, aligning with industry best practices.
  3. Unified patient identifier: Overcome the challenge of duplicate patient records by sharing a unique patient identifier across systems, thus ensuring synchronized and accurate patient information. This identifier becomes the key to making sure systems and data are in synch.
  4. Consolidated patient record data: Provide a consolidated view of extended patient details by integrating patient demographics, allergies, conditions, and family history across systems. For example, if a patient’s details are updated in MediRecords, you can use APIs and webhooks to make sure these same details are updated in a separate client management system (CMS).
  5. Closed-loop medication ordering: Enhance medication management by monitoring orders from prescription to dispensing, thereby minimising errors and disruptions in patient treatment plans. An example is the sending of evidence of prescription from MediRecords into a hospital enterprise system, creating a single source of truth for medication history. MediRecords has done this at Northern Health in Melbourne, to support Victorian Virtual Emergency Department prescribing workflows.
  6. Integrated case management and shared care: Improve collaboration among healthcare teams by integrating episode of care details, ensuring a more coordinated approach to patient management. Updating the status of allergies and investigation requests, for example, can increase safety and reduce risk of duplicated procedures.
  7. Flexible data capture and retrieval: Offering flexibility in capturing and retrieving custom data through custom fields within MediRecords, tailored to specific practice needs. 

Learn more about the problems MediRecords APIs can solve here.  

MediRecords’ APIs represent a significant step forward in addressing the complex challenges faced by healthcare providers today. By offering robust solutions for data management, communication, and collaboration, these APIs empower healthcare teams to deliver safer patient care in an increasingly interconnected healthcare landscape. With a commitment to innovation and efficiency, MediRecords will continue to expand our means of securely sharing the data needed for the future of healthcare delivery.

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Federal Government’s digital-health plan puts people first
 

January 18, 2024

Federal Government’s digital-health plan puts people first

The Federal Government has launched its 10-year blueprint for digital health investments and initiatives, with a key focus on encouraging Australians to trust in data and enable its innovative use in healthcare. 

The much-anticipated blueprint envisions an efficient, person-centred healthcare system underpinned by secure, interoperable data, and responsiveness to emerging technologies.

Digitally enabled collaboration between hospitals, primary care and community providers, including allied health, will ensure information follows patients through the system, the report said.

The Digital Health Blueprint 2023-2033 is accompanied by an Action Plan establishing broad strategies for the coming decade.

The central aim of the blueprint is convenience for consumers whose healthcare journeys will be supported by multidisciplinary teams providing coordinated care. These teams will deliver services underpinned by digital-health technology that enables consumers to make informed decisions about their care.

While eyebrows were raised at the timing of the release of such an important planning document, three days before Christmas, the arrival of the national strategy was welcomed by the Medical Technology Association of Australia (MTAA).

The blueprint states: “Trusted, timely and accessible use of digital and data underpins a personalised and connected health and wellbeing experience for all Australians.”

The action plan sets out a range of initiatives either already started, ongoing or at planning stage. “While each initiative calls upon specific delivery partners, the health software industry should be recognised for its key role in realising many of these,” it says.

The Initiatives include:

  • Allied health providers to connect to a beefed-up My Health Record, “building on adoption within general practice and medical specialists”
  • Strengthening and expanding ePrescribing, including to public hospitals
  • Real-time prescription monitoring
  • Electronic medication charts 
  • Establishing a core national standard — Sparked – Core FHIR standards — for consistent patient health interaction information capture (MediRecords is an active participant in the Sparked community)
  • “Digitally empowering” Australia’s healthcare workforce
  • Establishing a national eRequesting capability for pathology and diagnostic imaging health services, facilitating electronic clinical-decision support
  • National health-information exchange capabilities, requiring agreement between states and territories
  • Broadening the range of assistive technologies available for seniors living independently.

MediRecords is uniquely capable of supporting the digital health initiatives. The MediRecords  Care platform is designed for use by multidisciplinary teams and for data interoperability. Featuring FHIR and API connectivity, MediRecords is working on a major national project for data sharing across the healthcare spectrum of patients, GPs, allied health providers, specialists and hospitals.

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