The healthcare industry today operates in a connected environment with smartphones, heart-rate monitor, laptops, tablets and so forth. The hospital Wi-Fi solutions and hospital Wi-Fi network cannot, therefore, be anything less than the best that is possible on any given day. The population of devices competing for connectivity to the Wi-Fi in your healthcare organisation is rising perennially. But, this growing traffic can present bottlenecks leading to total Wi-Fi failure.
With the number of end-users in hospitals always on the high side irrespective of who is accessing the network, quality connectivity is paramount and is on equal footing with quality healthcare. If hospitals deny Wi-Fi access to guests or offer slow connections, that would impact patient satisfaction even when the health care provided is superior. In modern times, instant access to the internet is an abject necessity than an option and the number of connected devices and connected homes make it even more critical.
With Wi-Fi 5 having already transitioned to Wi-Fi 6, it bodes well for hospitals and other healthcare facilities to revisit the Wi-Fi network in their facility and upgrade or even completely replace the existing system to be compatible with modern-day needs. There are many reasons why hospital Wi-Fi solutions and hospital Wi-Fi networks can be compromised or become sub-par and the following are among major causes.
The usage pattern of each device
To evaluate the Wi-Fi network performance it is important that the IT wing of healthcare facilities understand the usage pattern of various devices that access the network irrespective of whether the devices are used by patients or the hospital employees. Doctors can be using the network for uploading or downloading patient information while patients may be streaming movies when they are waiting for their turn. Some of these tasks may consume more bandwidth compared to the others. Therefore, a deep understanding of the usage pattern is the first step towards sprucing up the Wi-Fi network in the hospital. A professional assessment of the Wi-Fi network is the best way to fathom the usage pattern. A superficial analysis may drive you to think that patients/guests are draining the bandwidth available, while the culprit may be an EHR system or some other critical medical application.
Ensure the security of every device
In a hospital setting, hundreds of users may be accessing a singular Wi-Fi network that you provide and many of them may also be using multiple devices. Therefore, the security of each of these devices becomes paramount. If the security of individual devices is not addressed adequately, the hospital is risking not only its own financial stability but also the privacy of healthcare data of the patients.
According to recent reports, the cost of data breaches is the highest for the healthcare industry and each data breach on an average is costing about $4 million in damages. Further, about 90% of healthcare organizations have suffered serious data breaches in recent years and the cost of every hack is put at about $2.2 million. The best way to prevent such crippling financial consequences is to ensure optimal network security in your hospital or healthcare facility.
Absence of segmented access
If your guest network and the central network are not properly segmented, patients and other visitors to your healthcare facility/hospital can unknowingly be accessing unsecured networks. But when the network is properly segmented, you are limiting the chances of dangers that patients may cause to sensitive areas within your network.
Apart from segmenting access for patients and visitors, managers should also focus on policies for employee access. Identify areas of your network that can be restricted to just a handful of senior management personnel or the owners. Similarly, every employee at varying levels of the organization should be aware of the privileges within the network that they can access.
Consider maintenance upgrade
High device volumes can lead to multiple vulnerabilities and the hospital administration or the IT department should be capable of recognizing signs of sub-par performance from the hospital Wi-Fi solutions and hospital Wi-Fi network. Investing in upgrades is a desirable measure for overcoming various challenges including:-
Old equipment
When you experience excessive time consumed in troubleshooting, upgrading the old systems must be considered. There are two ways to do this – the first is a complete replacement of all your outdated and old networking hardware – and the second is to approach this more proactively by replacing critical network components every year so that over time the whole system gets updated and you are safe from constant failures. But, if your existing system is experiencing intermittent failures, then the phased approach may not be viable for you.
Inefficient wireless design
The Wireless design for your hospital should fully reckon the RF environment. A competent site survey will help in identifying potential trouble spots in the hospital network and provide the required information for designing appropriate solutions.
Inadequate APs
Access points around your hospital property should be deployed in a way that ensures maximum connectivity. The best way to achieve this is once again a competent site survey that helps with upgradation, replacement or addition of more APs. With no ‘one size fits all’ solution available, unique design is essential for distributing the APs.
Not being tuned to the latest developments in wireless technology
Given the pace at which technology is evolving, it is essential that all those who rely on digital technology for work and pleasure are continuously updated on how things are changing and changing for good. Healthcare facilities and hospitals are increasingly reliant on hospital Wi-Fi solutions and hospital Wi-Fi networks for the transmission of mission-critical tasks including in cardiology, radiology, telemedicine, imaging, electronic medical records, handheld scanners etc. The secure and efficient working of these applications is possible only with high-capacity, high-performance and pervasive wireless networks.
Upgrading to Wi-Fi 6 is critical for hospitals today particularly because it offers astonishing speeds up to 9.6 Gbps opposed to 3.5 Gbps from the earlier Wi-Fi 5, apart from improved network efficiency and greater control. The upgrade should also factor in quality cabling to maximize effectiveness.
Conclusion
The connected world, in which we live today, makes it imperative that hospitals and other public utility areas have the best in class Wi-Fi connectivity as an integral part of the enterprise and not an option.