Exploring Cloudy Collaboration in Healthcare: An Evaluation Framework of Cloud Computing Services for Hospitals

Cloud computing (CC) is regarded as having the potential to facilitate collaboration in the hospital sector. Yet, adoption of cloud computing services (CCS) in hospitals is low. While a well-designed evaluation of CCS can promote informed adoption decision-making, research on CCS evaluation in the hospital sector is insufficient. To address this research gap, we propose an evaluation framework (EF) of CCS for hospitals. Grounded in the human, organization and technology-fit model, our EF employs six dimensions to evaluate how a CCS facilitates collaboration in hospitals. By applying our EF to 38 identified CCS for hospitals, we demonstrate its efficacy. Our research contributes to both practice and research. For practice, our EF can be used to screen available CCS for hospitals and thus expedite cloud adoption processes. For research, our EF unfolds the complexity of CC in healthcare and is of particular relevance for IS research in healthcare.