The Difference Between Saas and Hosted EHR Solutions

There are different options for Electronic Health Record System and the most prominent options are SaaS and Hosted options. So what is SaaS and Hosted EHR? What is the difference between these two solutions?

One of the most important issues that health organization managers have to decide is EHR systems. There are different options for Electronic Health Record System and the most prominent options are SaaS and Hosted options. So what is SaaS and Hosted EHR? What is the difference between these two solutions? In our article, we have detailed the main differences between Saas and Hosted EHR solutions.

SaaS EHR Solutions

Saas stands for software as a service and is the method of delivering software to end users who do not want to deal with running and maintaining the software. SaaS systems are systems built on servers, run, and maintained by a provider in a data center. These software rarely have limited options for customization and are always shared with multiple consumers.

Hosted EHR Solutions

Hosted EHR solutions are a completely different solution tools. When you contract for a Hosted EHR solution, you ask the provider company to set up a physical infrastructure for you that is designed for your needs. Hosting can be done in a data center that shares space with other hosted solutions, but the application can only be used by you as a healthcare application.

Exchange vs Gmail

In order to better explain the difference between the two solutions, we can take the development process of the email service as an example. The program, which was widely used by companies in the first years of the email era, became Microsoft's client-server-based application called Exchange. In order for the Exchange program to work, you would need to have servers in your office running the software, and usually at least one person responsible for maintaining the software and installing the program on desktop computers in the office. The Exchange program was very complex in the beginning and being able to set up and run the program was a full-time job.

After Exchange began to dominate the corporate email world, many new companies emerged that could host Exchange servers. These "Hosted Exchange" services provided you with your own Exchange servers and you could connect to these servers via internet. The Exchange server was connected in the same way before, but thanks to this service, there was no need to have a server in the offices. In terms of the end user, there was no change. However, companies no longer need to own, operate and maintain servers for the Exchange program. Companies started to use the program by paying monthly or annual fees to Hosted Exchange companies on a per user basis.

Later, a company offered a great SaaS option for its email program. When Google first launched Gmail, it was more of a consumer product, but it has evolved very quickly to the point where today a paid version is offered for $50 per user per year. If you are using Gmail, you are not running your own Gmail server, you are sharing Google's huge servers running Gmail software with millions of other users as a true SaaS application.

Pros of Hosted EHR Solutions

We think that we have shared the difference between the two solutions with you in a very detailed way by discussing the development process of email. Both solutions have advantages and disadvantages, but the most important point to consider when choosing is the company's priorities. If privacy is one of your top priorities and you only want to use your own servers, Hosted EHR solutions can be more effective even though it is a more costly system.

Pros of SaaS EHR Solutions

SaaS EHR solutions, which have come to the forefront as one of the studies carried out to reduce costs in health services in recent years, provide great advantages especially in terms of labor and time. Health organizations need to focus on their priorities and needs when choosing between these two different solutions. There is no one right option for EHR solutions, there is the right option for the organization. Therefore, it is of great importance that priorities are considered when making decisions on an institutional basis.

In addition, you can get detailed information about digital transformation in healthcare by reading our article titled The Role of Digital Transformation in Healthcare See you on different topics.