The COVID-19 global epidemic has fast-tracked the already happening tech revolution of our times. Unsurprisingly, the healthcare sector has found itself undergoing an unprecedented transformation while also being forced to face new unforeseeable challenges.
Today more than ever, relying on fast, adaptable, and effective wireless services is paramount for the future of the industry. Common challenges include maintaining outstanding service for smartphones, patient charting, providing seamless wireless networks to patients and their families, and dealing with the surging demand for telehealth. (From virtual patient rounding to clinical meetings and remote admissions).
This, of course, calls for a rethinking of current hospital and clinical facility infrastructure and sheds a light on the more pressing areas of improvement.
Below, we have gathered 4 guidelines and industry best practices to guarantee outstanding and cost-controlled levels of workflow and patient care.
Wireless Networks Should be Intuitive and Low-maintenance
The medical profession is a high-stake and incredibly demanding one. Ensuring the healthcare facility personnel are relying on an intuitive and easily managed network can help maintain elevated standards of patient care. Moreover, carefully laid out and automated management/troubleshooting tools will result in a time and cost-effective investment in the long run. Keeping things simple for the IT team ensures reliability and ease of maintenance when things go awry.
Patient Data Protection is Ensured at All Time
With a 51% healthcare data breaches increase in 2021 alone, patient data protection has become a hot industry topic. Furthermore, healthcare facilities are under the obligation to comply with governmental regulations in matters of handling personal information. A thought-out hospital IT network will ensure cybersecurity across the network perimeter, therefore minimizing the risk of data leaks. Here are 4 tips for reducing the risk of a data breach.
Stable Connectivity Becomes a Must
In the modern clinical facility - pretty much everything relies on wireless networks. In 2022, the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) encompasses increasingly relevant industry tools. From actual medical devices to Electronic Health Records (EHR), core operational assets are now vulnerable to fluctuations in the IT network. Higher reliance on cloud connectivity, remote access and WAN performance cannot be overlooked. We have to consider that perceived WLAN reliability issues may in fact be related to WAN and cloud application performance issues.
Personalized and Secure WiFi Access is Granted to Staff and Patients Alike
As the average hospital wireless network is expected to administer countless services and thousands of simultaneously connected, disparate devices at once, segmented and secured access should be incorporated in the IT network design. This way, medical staff will be granted access to relevant patient and equipment data, while patients and guests can securely connect to the medical facility’s network. While the clinical staff is usually issued devices with built in enterprise security, we cannot ignore the fact that personal devices are often used for business. Hotspot 2.0 allows for easy (sometimes automatic) onboarding of devices onto hospital WLAN's while also keeping the connection secure.
Conclusion
The ever-changing tech scenario of our times is bound to keep shaping the future of healthcare. As the industry strives to actualize and - in some cases - even reinvent itself, it becomes paramount to ensure facility IT networks are well equipped to face everyday challenges such as network stability, data protection, and infrastructure maintenance.
Contact us now to discuss how we can improve your security and reliability without being sold boxes and licenses—we will optimize what you already own. Clinical Mobility will ensure that your healthcare delivery organization will have the highest levels of security without compromising excellent network performance.
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