Healthcare is changing fast, and technology is playing a huge role. One of the biggest drivers of this change is Software as a Service or SaaS. Think of it like using apps on your phone or streaming services online—you access software over the internet instead of installing it directly on computers. In healthcare, SaaS tools are helping hospitals and clinics manage patient information, offer virtual appointments, and operate more efficiently.
However, with this convenience comes a big responsibility: keeping sensitive patient data safe from cyber threats like ransomware. How will SaaS continue to shape healthcare in 2025, and how can providers protect patient data? We spoke with Dr. Evelyn Reed, Chief Technology Officer at Rubrik, a company specializing in data security, to get her insights.
Dr. Reed, thanks for joining us. First, please explain in simple terms what SaaS is and why it’s becoming so important in healthcare.
Absolutely. SaaS, or Software as a Service, basically means using software hosted by a third party over the internet. Instead of buying and installing software on every computer in a hospital, the hospital subscribes to a service. This is important for healthcare because it makes powerful tools more accessible and often more affordable. It allows for easier updates and scalability—meaning it can grow with the hospital’s needs—and lets staff access information from different locations, which is crucial for things like telemedicine and collaboration between doctors.
What are some of the most significant ways you see SaaS changing how hospitals and clinics operate right now?
We’re seeing major changes. Electronic Health Records are often delivered via SaaS, making patient records instantly available to authorized staff wherever they are. Telemedicine platforms, which exploded in use recently, rely heavily on SaaS to connect doctors and patients remotely. SaaS also powers tools for scheduling, billing, and even managing medical equipment, streamlining many of the background tasks that keep a hospital running.
Telemedicine is a great example. How does SaaS specifically help make those virtual doctor visits smooth and secure?
SaaS platforms provide the infrastructure for video calls, appointment scheduling, and secure messaging between patients and providers. Crucially, good healthcare SaaS ensures these interactions meet strict privacy rules like HIPAA. The data is transmitted and stored securely, often with encryption. It also allows doctors to access the patient’s EHR during the virtual visit, making the consultation more informed and effective, just like an in-person appointment.
You mentioned Electronic Health Records or EHRs. How has SaaS improved doctors’ and nurses’ access to and use of patient information compared to older systems?
Older systems were often stuck on specific computers or servers within the hospital. SaaS-based EHRs are typically cloud-based, meaning a doctor can securely log in and view a patient’s complete history – allergies, medications, past visits, test results – from a computer, tablet, or even a secure mobile device, whether they are in the operating room, their office, or consulting remotely. This immediate access leads to faster, better-informed decisions.
What are the biggest challenges or hurdles healthcare organizations face when they try to adopt more SaaS solutions?
Dr. Evelyn Reed: Security is always the top concern. Protecting sensitive patient data in the cloud requires robust measures. Integration can also be a challenge – making sure new SaaS tools work smoothly with existing hospital systems. Cost and budgeting are also significant factors. As a recent report highlighted, many hospitals struggle with budgeting for qualified IT resources and getting the most out of their tech investments. Finally, staff training is important so everyone can use the new tools effectively and safely.
Let’s talk more about security. What specific data risks do hospitals face when they move patient information to cloud-based SaaS platforms?
The risks are significant. Ransomware attacks, where criminals lock up data and demand payment, are a major threat to hospitals because patient care can be directly impacted. Data breaches to sensitive patient information can lead to identity theft and significant legal and reputational damage. There’s also the risk of accidental data exposure due to misconfigured settings or human error. Ensuring data availability – meaning the data is there when doctors need it – is also critical.
Rubrik talks about “Zero Trust Data Security.” Can you explain what that means for a hospital trying to protect its data?
Zero Trust is a security concept that you shouldn’t automatically trust anyone or anything trying to access your network or data, even if they are already inside the network perimeter. It means continuously verifying identity and permissions for every access request. For a hospital, this means implementing strict access controls, ensuring data backups are kept separate and cannot be infected by an attack (immutable backups), and constantly monitoring for suspicious activity. It assumes a breach could happen and focuses on minimizing the damage and ensuring you can recover quickly.
How does Rubrik’s specific approach help hospitals defend against threats like ransomware?
Rubrik provides a platform designed with Zero Trust principles from the ground up. We ensure that backup data is kept logically separate and cannot be encrypted or deleted by ransomware attackers – we call this immutability. If an attack happens, the hospital knows it has clean copies of its data. Our platform also helps hospitals quickly identify what data was affected by an attack. It allows them to recover critical systems rapidly, often in minutes or hours, not days or weeks. This minimizes disruption to patient care and removes the need to even consider paying a ransom.
Can you give an example of how having this kind of robust data security actually helps improve patient care?
Sure. Imagine a ransomware attack hitting a hospital’s main systems. If they don’t have secure, rapidly recoverable backups, doctors might lose access to patient histories, medication lists, and test results. Surgeries could be canceled, diagnoses delayed, and treatments compromised. With a Zero Trust approach like Rubrik’s, the hospital can quickly restore that vital information, ensuring doctors have what they need to make timely, informed decisions, which directly translates to better and safer patient care, even in the face of a cyberattack.
We recently saw news that only about a quarter of healthcare organizations feel their cybersecurity efforts are fully funded. How can advanced solutions help when budgets are tight?
That’s a critical point. While strong security requires investment, modern platforms can actually be more cost-effective in the long run. By consolidating data protection tasks onto a single platform, automating processes, and reducing the risk of costly breaches or ransomware payouts, solutions like Rubrik can lower the total cost of ownership. Preventing a single major attack can save millions in recovery costs, fines, and reputational damage, making the initial investment very worthwhile. It’s about investing smartly to avoid much larger, unplanned expenses later.
Another big topic is AI. How is AI being combined with SaaS in healthcare now, and what changes do you expect by 2025?
AI is already making inroads. It’s being used in SaaS tools for things like medical image analysis (helping radiologists detect issues), predicting patient risk factors, automating administrative tasks, and optimizing hospital workflows. That same article noted that 65% of healthcare pros see AI as vital to reducing workloads. By 2025, I expect AI to be more deeply integrated into clinical decision support tools, helping doctors diagnose conditions faster and personalize treatment plans. We’ll also see more AI used behind the scenes to enhance cybersecurity, detecting threats that humans might miss.
Some reports suggest innovation can sometimes be slow to take hold in healthcare. How can SaaS help speed things up?
SaaS can accelerate innovation because new features and updates are delivered automatically over the internet by the provider. Hospitals don’t need to go through lengthy, complex internal upgrades for every new piece of functionality. This allows them to adopt new tools, like improved diagnostic algorithms or better patient communication portals, much faster than with traditional software models. It lowers the barrier to trying and implementing new ideas.
What’s the single most exciting development you anticipate seeing driven by SaaS in the healthcare space in 2025?
I think the most exciting development will be the increasingly seamless and secure integration of data from many different sources – EHRs, wearable devices, remote monitoring tools, genetic information – all brought together through secure SaaS platforms. This holistic view of the patient, accessible securely anytime, anywhere, combined with AI insights, has the potential to truly personalize medicine and shift care towards prevention and early intervention like never before.
Cyber threats are always changing. How does Rubrik ensure its platform stays ahead of these new and evolving risks?
It’s a constant effort. We invest heavily in research and development, monitoring the threat landscape, and proactively updating our platform. We work with the security community and incorporate threat intelligence into our products. Our architecture itself, based on Zero Trust principles like immutability and strict access control, is designed to be resilient against unforeseen threats. We also focus on helping organizations quickly detect and recover from attacks, acknowledging that perfect prevention is impossible, so rapid response is key.
What’s a good first step for a hospital or clinic leader reading this who wants to improve their data security posture?
A crucial first step is understanding what data you have, where it lives, and how critical it is. Then, assess your current backup and recovery strategy. Can you actually recover quickly from a major incident like ransomware? Are your backups truly protected from attack? Implementing basic Zero Trust principles like multi-factor authentication and ensuring backups are immutable are foundational steps. From there, you can build a more comprehensive strategy.
This has been really insightful, Dr. Reed. Where can our readers who want to understand more about how Rubrik approaches data security find more information about Zero Trust Data Protection?
Thank you. Readers can visit our website, specifically the page detailing our Zero Trust Data Protection solutions. It provides more detail on how we help organizations secure their data and ensure they can recover rapidly from cyber threats and operational disruptions.
The conversation with Dr. Reed underscores the transformative role of SaaS in shaping healthcare by 2025. The benefits are clear, from enabling efficient telemedicine and accessible electronic health records to potentially streamlining operations with AI. However, the absolute necessity of safeguarding patient data stands out.
As healthcare organizations increasingly depend on cloud-based tools, adopting robust security strategies, like the Zero Trust model championed by companies like Rubrik, isn’t just an IT decision – it’s fundamental to maintaining patient trust and ensuring continuity of care. The future of healthcare relies on embracing technological advancements while rigorously protecting the sensitive information at its heart.
