How Wi-Fi Upgrades Support Hospitals’ Smart Room Initiatives

The Rapid Expansion of Technology in Patient Rooms

The Patient Room “Next” concept envisions a flexible, technology-enabled space in which patients receive cutting-edge treatment, regardless of where that treatment is delivered. Consistent care can be delivered in traditional inpatient rooms, exam rooms, operating rooms and intensive care units, as well as in outpatient care centers, remote clinics, “hospitals at home” and more.

Patient Room ‘Next’ technology is powered by Artisight’s IoT sensor network, which uses cameras, sensors and microphones to collect data. This data is then analyzed by artificial intelligence algorithms powered by NVIDIA Clara Guardian.

By sending alerts to clinical teams, the sensor network can improve patient care and efficiency by augmenting clinical workflows such as tracking hand washing, monitoring IV fluid levels, and detecting movements and behaviors that could lead to patient falls.

Tablets give patients information such as test results and greater autonomy to order meals or call a nurse. Other smart devices include wearables, smart beds, biosensors and implanted monitors, which help with continuous health monitoring and early detection of potential health problems.

Environmental technologies allow for adjustments to lighting, shades and temperature in the patient space. There are also remote patient monitoring devices that extend hospital device networks into homes, helping prevent hospital readmissions.

DIVE DEEPER: Healthcare systems are modernizing patient rooms to improve the experience.

Network Considerations for Healthcare Organizations

Networks are the backbone of many healthcare organizations’ technology initiatives. Healthcare relies heavily on Wi-Fi for fast, seamless access to patient records, medical histories, and diagnostic images. With the rise of virtual care, healthcare providers depend on uninterrupted connections.

Additionally, the growing number of IoMT devices and other tools that require internet access means that healthcare organization networks can quickly become overloaded. Additionally, each of these devices creates an additional attack vector for malicious actors. Healthcare IT teams must therefore be able to monitor, manage, and secure devices to reduce risk and minimize the impact of cyberattacks, especially as IoMT devices integrate with more systems in healthcare IT environments.

Network modernization for this critical infrastructure not only improves security, but also performance and reliability, and supports the growing number of IoMT devices, mobile devices, and cloud migrations that are putting more pressure on organizations’ existing network infrastructures.

Healthcare facilities implementing patient room improvements should keep the following network considerations in mind:

• Next-generation IoMT applications depend on high-speed, low-latency, jitter-free connectivity. Upgrade to Wi-Fi 6E, an extension of Wi-Fi 6,Wireless technology offers many benefits to healthcare organizations, including faster speeds, lower latency, and increased network security. However, before healthcare IT teams embark on a modernization project, it’s important to ensure their infrastructure and IT ecosystem are compatible with the new wireless standard.
• Before beginning any network upgrade, it is critical that healthcare IT leaders have a clear understanding of their organization’s existing network ecosystem. That’s where a network assessment comes in. An assessment should be conducted as early as possible in the network modernization process. A partner like CDW can help a healthcare organization develop its modernization strategy and determine the equipment needed to enable Wi-Fi 6E connectivity.
• As more organizations move to the cloud, having a strong network becomes even more important. Many healthcare IT teams need help understanding how to bridge the gap between on-premises and cloud storage as part of their digital transformation. Organizations are also increasingly focusing on software-defined networking and automation to create efficiencies to address IT staffing and skills shortages.
• Interoperability of health IT systems is essential to the successful operation of a smart hospital. Recognizing this, healthcare sectors around the world are working to adopt standards that improve interoperability, including Health Level Seven International, or HL7, a set of standards, formats, and definitions for the exchange and development of electronic health records.
• Don’t try to go it alone. If healthcare organizations don’t have experience with network upgrades, working alone can be difficult and IT teams may find themselves facing issues that could have been avoided if they had engaged a technology partner.

FOLLOWING: Integrating smart hospital solutions into healthcare IT ecosystems.