Public health applications in the cloud

Public health departments use information technology every day to help protect their communities from disease. With the advent of cloud technology, public health professionals are now discussing whether and how cloud technology should be used. This article describes the advantages and disadvantages of putting applications in the cloud, along with lessons learned from moving an existing public health disease surveillance system, Electronic Surveillance System for the Early Notification of Community-based Epidemics (ESSENCE), from a locally installed system to a cloud environment. The article includes specific details on the use of the Amazon GovCloud environment, performance issues, and potential issues that could arise from use of the cloud in international settings. Although cloud technologies will not solve every problem, they provide a powerful and flexible foundation for applications- something that public health professionals should consider using for their future applications.