Hospital and clinic teams
Prepare operational procedures, staff guidance and working documents in a shared space. Assign an owner for each document set and separate drafts from the version staff should use.
NEXTCLOUD FOR HEALTHCARE
Connected healthcare teams. Controlled access.
Give hospitals, clinics and laboratories a private workspace for staff collaboration, operational documents and approved external exchange.
Explore DICOM and file previews ↓
HealthcareFiles · Office · Talk
Hospital photograph: Waka77, Wikimedia Commons (CC0) ↗
NEXTCLOUD FILES · MEDICAL IMAGING
Open a DICOM image from Files.
DICOM is the standard used to package medical images and their associated study information. With a compatible DICOM Viewer add-on enabled, users can open supported exports such as digital X-rays, CT and MRI images in their browser.
- Prepare an approved export. Keep the original study in PACS. Place a permitted copy in a restricted workspace for the agreed purpose. Use synthetic or appropriately de-identified samples in a pilot.
- Open it in Files. Select the .dcm file or use Open with DICOM Viewer where available. The viewer can show image slices or series and DICOM attributes such as modality and orientation, depending on the file and app version.
- Use the available viewing tools. Scroll a compatible series, zoom, pan or adjust window and level. Test representative exports before agreeing which workflows the viewer can support.
Clinical system boundary. Keep primary diagnosis and the authoritative archive in the institution’s designated clinical systems. Any clinical use or connection to PACS requires separate review, integration design and validation. DICOM headers and markings on the image can contain patient information.
DICOM Viewer in the Nextcloud App Store ↗Nextcloud’s imaging walkthrough ↗
What can you open in the browser?
- Medical imaging.dcm
- DICOM Viewer add-on
Open a compatible X-ray, CT or MRI export from Files. Test the imaging modalities, series and encodings used by your institution.
- PDF documents.pdf
- Browser preview
Read a procedure, approved report or guidance document by selecting the file.
- Standard images and text.jpg, .png, .txt
- Files viewers
Open standard photos or plain-text notes directly from the file list. A JPEG exported from a scan is an image copy and carries different information from the original DICOM study.
- Office documents.docx, .xlsx, .pptx, .odt
- Configured Office integration
Open and, with the right permissions, co-edit supported documents. Confirm the editor and file formats as part of deployment.
- Audio and videoFor example .mp3 or .mp4
- Browser and codec support
Play supported media from Files. Confirm compatibility with your browser and server configuration.
Browser viewing and file-list thumbnails are configured separately. Files without a compatible viewer may download instead. Confirm supported types on the planned Nextcloud version and browser.
Who uses the workspace
Bring day-to-day collaboration into one governed workspace.
Give each team a clear place to work, with access tied to its role and the type of information it handles.
Laboratories and diagnostic services
Coordinate approved exchange of protocols, quality documents and partner instructions. Route diagnostic results through the designated clinical system and review any separate transfer before bringing it into scope.
Quality and administration
Collect audit evidence, service procedures and supplier documentation. Assign reviewers, record decisions in the designated system and agree what must be retained.
IT, security and privacy teams
Define which data is eligible for the workspace, how staff and partners sign in, and who administers backups, restores and incident procedures.
A practical workflow
Take a hospital procedure from draft to approved release.
Draft a procedure
Give the quality team and nominated department leads a working copy. Use supported co-editing to collect input and define who owns the final revision.
Issue the approved version
Publish the approved copy to the staff workspace with the correct revision and effective date. Check that staff can find it from their normal workstation and recognize superseded copies.
Share a partner pack
Give an external laboratory or service provider access to the approved non-clinical documents it needs. Confirm what the recipient can see and when access ends.
Review access and evidence
Revoke temporary access after the work ends. Record the issued version and review evidence in the agreed quality or records system.
Nextcloud in practice
Tools for healthcare operations and staff collaboration.
Official Nextcloud screens with demonstration content.
Nextcloud Files
Publish approved procedures and share partner packs with defined access.
Official product page ↗
Nextcloud Office
Co-edit supported policy drafts, meeting records and quality documents.
Official product page ↗
Nextcloud Talk
Coordinate staff meetings and non-emergency operational reviews.
Official product page ↗Security & Data Protection
Protect sensitive information at every handover.
Define which workflows belong in the workspace, who can access them and how the institution keeps them recoverable.
Nextcloud HubControl access
Map staff groups and partner roles. Test access removal and the handling of shared files when a staff member leaves.
Protect sensitive files
Classify documents before sharing. Agree hosting, backups, encryption scope and administrator access for each approved workflow.
Review activity
Define which events to log, who reviews them and how long the institution keeps the evidence.
Plan recovery
Test restoration and agree operational responsibilities so staff know where to find critical working documents during disruption.
In a healthcare institution
Start with operational documents.
Pilot an approved staff procedure using test accounts and documents without patient data. Before adding a sensitive workflow, review the data flow, authorization, hosting, logs and recovery with the institution’s responsible teams.
Applicable requirements
Review each workflow in its legal context.
- Personal data. Assess the Serbian ZZPL and, where applicable, the EU GDPR separately. Review the basis for processing, conditions for health data, access, retention, processor arrangements and transfers. Serbian ZZPL ↗ · EU GDPR ↗
- Health documentation and confidentiality. Map what belongs in the designated health records system and who may access or handle it. Review the health documentation rules and patient confidentiality duties for the institution. Health documentation law ↗ · Health Care Law ↗
- Information security. Assess whether the institution is in scope and document its applicable measures, continuity and reporting responsibilities. RATEL legislation ↗
YOUR PLATFORM. YOUR OPERATING MODEL.
Enterprise foundations.
Managed to your needs.
Choose who operates the platform. We define the deployment, responsibilities and support scope with you before implementation.
Nextcloud Enterprise
For organizations that want to run Nextcloud on their own or agreed private infrastructure.
- Architecture and Enterprise subscription planning
- Identity, storage and security integration
- Migration, configuration and administrator handover
- Support aligned with the selected subscription
Managed Nextcloud
For teams that want a defined operational service alongside their collaboration platform.
- Hosting location and access boundaries agreed with you
- Monitoring, maintenance and update responsibilities
- Backup and recovery scope with restoration checks
- User support, capacity reviews and service reporting
Proposed service scope. Hosting, subscription, response times, recovery objectives and pricing are confirmed in the written offer. Managed service is an operating model; it can include Nextcloud Enterprise.
QUESTIONS BEFORE YOU START
Clear expectations from day one.
Can Nextcloud work alongside our clinical systems?
Yes. Use the workspace for agreed collaboration such as policies, operational documents and staff reviews. The designated clinical systems retain their role in patient records, laboratory results and imaging.
Any clinical integration or patient-data exchange needs a separate design and acceptance review. Map which system owns the record and how permissions, errors and retention are handled.
Can an external laboratory or partner participate?
Start with a defined work package, such as a non-clinical procedure or a quality review. Decide whether the partner needs an account or a controlled link and assign a responsible workspace owner.
Test what the recipient can see and do, how access expires and how the team handles files already downloaded. Review any exchange involving patient data separately.
Where are the workspace and backups hosted?
Choose between infrastructure operated by your institution and a hosting environment agreed during design. Document primary data and backup locations, administrator access, support responsibilities and recovery procedures.
Bring any procurement, hosting or remote-access conditions to the review. Confirm them against the design and written terms before putting real data into scope.
What should we prove in a pilot?
Start with one operational workflow, test users and documents without patient data. Check staff sign-in, access from the devices they use, partner permissions, revocation and restoration.
Define acceptance criteria with the workflow owner and the privacy and IT teams. Review the results before adding further departments or sensitive processes.
Start with one workflow
Prove the boundaries before you expand.
Discover
Select one operational workflow. Map staff roles, partner access and the types of documents involved.
Pilot
Use test accounts and non-patient material. Check permissions, version handling and recovery before the team relies on the workspace.
Roll out
Document ownership, training and support. Review any new data category or clinical workflow with the responsible institutional teams.
4 published references
CASE STUDIES & CUSTOMER STORIES
Case studies
See how hospitals, researchers and a medical practice use Nextcloud for different kinds of work.
Netherlands · Hospital
ZGT Hospital
Nextcloud’s customer story describes how ZGT selected an on-premises deployment to retain control of its collaboration environment and the data it handles.
External customer reference · Published by NextcloudRead the Nextcloud story ↗Germany · Biomedical research
University Medical Center Freiburg
The medical center’s fredato platform uses Nextcloud for research data collaboration. Its user guide shows how researchers open DICOM files, switch series, scroll slices and adjust image levels in the viewer.
Research workflow · Documented by Freiburg IMBISee the documented DICOM workflow ↗About the Freiburg project ↗France · University hospital
CHU de Montpellier
The university hospital’s 2019 activity report records the introduction of a Nextcloud workspace for secure file sharing in its information security programme.
Deployment reference · Published by CHU de MontpellierRead the hospital activity report (PDF, French) ↗Italy · Medical practice
Studio Medico Gippone
Implementation provider XKDIGITAL describes a Nextcloud portal with separate patient areas for reports and other documents. The project included migration from Google Drive, staff training and ongoing support.
Implementation case study · Published by XKDIGITALRead the provider case study ↗External references are credited to their original publishers. Freiburg documents DICOM viewing in a research setting. The other references describe hospital collaboration, file sharing or a patient document portal.
