Engineering Scalable, Secure, Multi-Tenant Cloud for Healthcare Data

Cloud-based analytics allow for inexpensive processing of large amount of data. However, processing protected health information (PHI) in cloud is a challenging task due to strict regulations (e.g., HIPAA) requiring features (e.g., data isolation) which most cloud-based platforms do not currently support in their offerings. This makes it difficult to leverage many technologies well suited to the cloud (e.g., Apache Spark)to process PHI. To address this issue, we have developed the Watson Health Cloud (WHC), a cloud-based platform for the storage and analysis of large amount of PHI. The WHC enables all the features necessary to store and process PHI, with little customization needed by the end-user. This paper describes the lessons learned from developing a cloud platform for PHI. Specifically, we discuss the architecture and implementation challenges we faced throughout development. We hope the insights gained from our experiences help others when designing frameworks and applications which process PHI.