In healthcare, patient needs are constantly evolving. To meet these demands, these institutions are taking advantage of emerging technology which has essentially changed the landscape of the industry.
From IoT devices to Electronic Medical Records to Picture Archiving Systems, bandwidth intensive applications are digitally tying together healthcare systems. The constant addition of new applications can improve greatly improve patient care and also create challenges with the network. Some of the top network challenges are:
System interoperability
In healthcare deployments there are on average more than 20 different operating systems. It’s predicated that by 2025, IoT in the healthcare sector will reach $534 billion.1 As these devices continue to get added to these networks, the ability to exchange and interpret data acquired from each application becomes more challenging. In order to ensure the efficient transmittal of real time data collected, these devices must be able to speak the same language.
Security
Healthcare is one of the top two industries affected by cyberattacks, with more than 190 million patient records stolen since 2009.2 Due to the large amount of patient data being constantly collected, healthcare has become a target for hackers. Not only do applications such as EHRs contain sensitive patient records, they also have valuable financial information. Due to this, the industry has unique compliance and security challenges. Any type of security breach could leave facilities that are not compliant with Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA) standards could result with up to $1.5 million in fines.3 Governing health related transactions and procedures, healthcare facilities must adhere to these requirements to ensure that patient records are protected. The HIPPA security rule require that each healthcare organization creates a contingency plan to ensure that if a disruption does occur business processes remain uninterrupted.
Connectivity
Connecting devices to the internet and ensuring that they are receiving the strongest signals possible is a constant challenge in healthcare. It’s important to understand that not all mobile and connected devices can be treated the same way. The only way for these devices to function properly is to have constant and dynamic network connectivity.
When Every Minute Counts, Rely On Opengear
Opengear solutions are the foundation of a contingency plan. Lighthouse Enterprise provides full visibility of an entire healthcare network while Smart Out-of-Band enables engineers to remotely monitor and manage any IT issues that may occur. Paired with Failover to Cellular™ which provides always-on availability with 4G LTE, healthcare organizations are able to continue business operations while the issues are remediated.
1 https://www.grandviewresearch.com/press-release/global-iot-in-healthcare-market
2 https://www.hipaajournal.com/healthcare-data-breach-costs-highest-of-any-industry-at-408-per-record/
3 https://healthitsecurity.com/news/majority-of-medical-devices-are-running-on-legacy-systems
