At the end of July, Microsoft announced that they are offering customers and partners a HIPAA Business Associated Agreement for Windows Azure. This makes is it possible for companies that build software for the healthcare industry to take advantage of Windows Azure. One can reasonable expect that over the next few months a lot more buzz and marketing material will be generated over HaaS.
Porticor.com has a great article “Cloud Encryption and Healthcare ‘as a Service’ solutions.” The article is focused on cloud security within healthcare application as a service. The section about data ownership really caught my attention. Healthcare data is a tricky subject. As an individual I want my healthcare information kept private between my doctor and myself. As a programmer who has spent a number of years working for health insurance companies, being able to mine the data allows for medical professionals to get a different look at how an individual’s health compares to other with similar conditions and to general population. The data could allow medical professionals to identify trends much earlier.