Essential Questions to Ask When Considering a Hosted EHR System

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What Healthcare Organizations Should Consider Before Moving to the Cloud

MTS has helped healthcare organizations successfully migrate Electronic Health Record (EHR) systems to the cloud. As more practices evaluate cloud infrastructure, the same questions come up repeatedly—cost, security, staffing, legacy systems, and disaster recovery.

This guide answers the most common questions about EHR cloud hosting, helping healthcare IT leaders understand when it makes sense to move to the cloud, what to look for in a hosting provider, and how cloud hosting compares to on-premises infrastructure.

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When Is the Right Time to Move an EHR to the Cloud?

A server refresh is often the best time to evaluate cloud hosting. When you compare the capital cost of new hardware, installation, ongoing maintenance, and the next refresh cycle in four to five years, cloud-based EHR hosting is frequently cost-competitive.

Cloud infrastructure also removes dependency on physical hardware procurement and reduces long-term infrastructure risk.

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Is EHR Cloud Hosting Secure?

Security is one of the top concerns for healthcare organizations—and for good reason. A reputable EHR cloud hosting provider should offer a comprehensive security framework that includes:

• Multi-factor authentication (MFA)
• Endpoint detection and response (EDR)
• 24/7 Security Operations Center (SOC) monitoring
• Encryption at rest and in transit
• Providers should also maintain recognized certifications such as HITRUST, SOC 2, or equivalent healthcare security standards.

Security today requires dedicated expertise. Partnering with a cloud provider reduces risk compared to managing security internally with limited resources.

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How Does Cloud Hosting Help With IT Staffing Challenges?

Healthcare organizations often struggle to hire and retain experienced infrastructure and security staff. Cloud hosting augments internal IT teams by offloading server management, backups, disaster recovery, and security operations to dedicated specialists. This allows IT leaders to redirect internal resources toward higher-value initiatives such as optimization, analytics, and clinical system support.

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Should I move my legacy EHR to the cloud? 

Cloud hosting is an effective solution for legacy EHR systems that must remain accessible for compliance, reporting, or historical reference.

Hosting legacy EHRs in the cloud:

• Removes infrastructure burden from internal teams
• Allows systems to remain available without full rebuilds
• Uses consumption-based pricing so organizations pay only for what they use

In many cases, older operating systems can continue running in supported cloud environments even after on-premises support ends.

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How does the cloud handle disaster recovery?

Cloud platforms are built for resilience and high availability. Disaster recovery options range from zone-redundant storage to full failover in alternate data centers, often with recovery times measured in minutes.

Backups can be stored in geo-redundant locations and architected to protect against ransomware and data corruption—frequently at a lower cost than traditional on-premises disaster recovery solutions.

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How does the cost compare to hosting on-premises?

Cloud-based EHR hosting enables secure access to applications, data, and even full virtual desktops from approved devices, regardless of location.

Many healthcare organizations are now moving entire environments—including servers, storage, databases, and desktops—to the cloud to improve accessibility while maintaining strong security controls and centralized management.

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When evaluating total cost of ownership, cloud-based EHR hosting can reduce costs by:

• Eliminating hardware refresh cycles
• Lowering IT management overhead
• Improving staff productivity
• Increasing operational agility
• Aligning capacity with actual demand
• Reducing wasted resources

 

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Is Cloud Hosting Right for Your EHR?

For many healthcare organizations, cloud hosting offers a secure, flexible, and cost-effective alternative to on-premises infrastructure—especially during hardware refreshes, staffing challenges, or system consolidation efforts.

Evaluating your EHR environment, operational goals, and long-term IT strategy is the best way to determine if moving to the cloud makes sense.

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Download our Cloud Hosting Checklist to help initiate a more detailed internal discussion about a move to the cloud. If you have more questions about Cloud hosting, feel free to reach out to our team of experts.