Technological advances have resulted in major changes to healthcare over the course of the last few years, with the efficiency of services that can be delivered by the use of Wi-Fi helping to spearhead the charge. Not only is the idea of a hospital that is completely integrated, allowing patients and healthcare professionals to have access to real-time, accurate monitoring anywhere within the hospital beginning to become a reality, but patients are also gaining greater control over their own treatment than has ever previously been the case. But what are the six main ways in which Wi-Fi helping to change the healthcare system?
Information Sharing
One of the most important methods of improving efficiency and productivity is superior information sharing. Wi-Fi means that data can be streamed from medical equipment that is connected to the system straight through to workstations or mobile devices, removing the necessity for an actual physical patient file and meaning that the level and accuracy of information about the wellbeing of a patient is immediately vastly improved by providing real-time access to MRI scans, X-rays and electronic medical records. The use of managed wireless LAN to receive and send information from critical machines onsite or home-based technology essentially allows healthcare providers to massively improve data sharing, resulting in lighter staff workloads and a streamlining of all hospital processes while simultaneously bettering patient care.
Equipment Monitoring
Using wireless LAN to connect medical equipment allows for the monitoring of location, particularly for items such as wheelchairs, cutting down on equipment loss and making sure that the equipment is located in the right place.
Patient Communication
Improved patient care is not just applicable to the perspective of those in the healthcare profession, with reliable internet access having enormous potential to result in a major improvement in the healthcare experience for patients, providing everything from reminders about appointments to a greater connection to their home life while having to stay the in hospital. The use of managed wireless LAN in healthcare improves communication between patients and their family and friends as well as offering workplace access, entertainment and cutting down on the sense of isolation that often occurs during hospital stays, especially for children. Patients who are more comfortable and happier are also likely to improve and recover much more quickly. People who earn a living via the internet may be extremely disadvantaged by the loss of their employment and income over the course of a hospital stay, but in many cases would be able to continue to perform the duties of their employment because of Wi-Fi.
Better Performance
Wi-Fi also offers a faster and more stable connection for employees and patients within clinics and hospitals, offering better bandwidth management and coverage while also allowing for a greater capacity. The bandwidth consumption of the hospital can also be more easily monitored and controlled and browsing made more secure.
Room Signs
The use of wireless LAN technology can result in the deployment of wireless displays in the form of digital room signs, which the central calendar system can then manage remotely. These displays, which are battery operated and come with a very long life span, are able to be updated in close to real time, resulting in healthcare worker processes becoming streamlined and offering an easy communication line for patients, visitors and employees.
Child-Friendly
Toys are not allowed in many GP surgeries but this could be changed by a more child-friendly Wi-Fi system. Waiting in the doctor’s office with a child who is either hyper or tired and irritated can be a nightmare for worried parents, and while toys would help in such circumstances they are often banned due to the likelihood of them passing an infection from one sick child to another. However, Wi-Fi means that children can be kept fully entertained by all the apps and games in mobile devices and smartphones.
Future Possibilities
The possibilities for the use of Wi-Fi to further enhance and improve healthcare systems seem to be almost limitless. The rapid improvement in the advancement of Wi-Fi standards over the last few years has made it much simpler to be able to meet all of the requirements for a connected healthcare scenario and this will only become more and more prevalent and expand on the ability of wireless LAN even more in regards to the healthcare industry’s high bandwidth, crucial applications.
The much talked about “Internet of Things” is also likely to be adopted on a considerably larger scale by healthcare organizations in the near future. Many forward-thinking healthcare providers have already started the process and it is expected to be adopted by many more in the next few years. The provision of wireless managed LAN offers unprecedented and seemingly unlimited opportunities for enhanced communication and equipment that is able to immediately update patient details with test results is the future. Hospitals and everyone associated with healthcare should be able to enjoy and benefit from this increasingly ubiquitous technology.
