We’ve already discussed the benefits of SaaS in healthcare especially those applications that provide opportunity for customization.  But are all SaaS platforms equal?  No…you guessed it… they certainly are not. 

In choosing a SaaS platform in healthcare, there are several criteria that need to be examined.  The check list should including the following at a minimum:

Redundancy –  verify platform has multi-location data centers and utilizes the latest in virtualization technologies

Backup – strong, consistent procedures

Scalability – high availability and instantaneous upgrades

Disaster recovery – if the unthinkable occurs, are you talking a few days or a screen refresh?

Security – remember we are dealing with healthcare data so the platform mush provide the best application, network and physical security for 100% HIPAA compliance

Management – are you depending on one person or is their a highly trained team managing your infrastructure?

So while we all will still skip to the “fee structure” section of a proposal, make sure you are comfortable with the level of risk you are taking when choosing a SaaS platform.  They are not all created equally.

What other attributes do you feel need to be added to this check list?