How the Health Information Systems Can Overcome the Challenges of Migrating to the Cloud? A Framework Based on a Mix Method Approach

Abstract

Introduction: Problems facing the health information systems and the potential of cloud computing make the use of this technology as a priority for healthcare organizations to migrate to the cloud. The purpose of the present study is to introduce a migration framework for health information systems to the cloud.Material and Methods: This study is a Mix method research that was performed in the first stage to identify the relevant factors of a qualitative study until the initial design of the resulting framework was obtained and, in the second phase using the two-stage quantitative Delphi method the framework was evaluated.Results: The overall component of the proposed framework, which had 149 components consists of four layers of governmental, executive, organizational and technical three major groups of stakeholders in government, the service providers (CSPs) and the service consumers (CSCs).Conclusion: Cloud computing is a new issue in the health, and the cloud migration process is one of the cost-effective solutions for managing health information systems. Due to the lack of knowledge of health executives on cloud computing, they may not be able to make appropriate decisions on doing the migration. Thus, having a comprehensive framework in addition to enhancing the knowledge decision makers will help them make better decisions while at the same time planning a roadmap for successful migration.