4 Steps to a Better Healthcare Wireless Network Design
Wireless network design is a key component of effective healthcare settings. As a vital piece of infrastructure, it’s crucial to ensure your network is optimized throughout various healthcare environments, including hospitals, clinics, and outdoor spaces.
By being intentional about your organization’s wireless network design, you can experience better outcomes for patients, healthcare professionals, and the organization as a whole. Here we’ll outline four steps to improve your hospital wireless network, along with wireless network design considerations for better patient care.
How Wireless Network Design Impacts Healthcare Settings
A well-designed wireless network allows medical devices to work like they are intended, creates a better way for patients to interact more fluidly with their care and facilitates better communication between their loved ones.
It’s not just patients’ in-clinic experience that improves either. Healthcare professionals will have faster, more reliable access for better decision-making, no matter where they are, even in stairwells or elevators, leading to improved patient outcomes. A superior wireless network will make your healthcare system more efficient and will increase the quality of patient care because of highly available systems. This leads to an enhanced reputation in the geographies they serve.
Each time a hospital or clinic makes changes to their facilities, they have an opportunity to re-evaluate, adjust, and improve the network design for better outcomes overall.
Improve Clinic & Hospital Wireless Networks
As you consider how your network impacts patient care, here are four steps to enhance your healthcare wireless network design:
Understand Network Requirements
Using on-site surveys, wireless assessments, and other tools can build a solid understanding of what is needed for the wireless network. In hospitals, you must understand the devices and applications being supported as well as their requirements. Additionally, you must consider various types of end users you serve — clinicians, patients, families, and administrative support staff — all of whom have unique needs in order to keep everything running smoothly. Consider using a “least capable, most important device” (LCMID) framework to best comprehend what mission-critical devices and applications must be supported.
If construction is being done, visit the site to understand the physical space and utilize site surveys and wireless assessments to help your team gather baseline information for design. Work with our team of experts to understand what you will need, including smart choices for wireless access point placement. As a trusted Aruba partner, Comport understands your unique business needs and technology requirements. Visit our wireless assessment page to learn more.
Be Clear on Use Cases
Be cognizant of all changes that may happen to your network over time. Are you deploying new devices, implementing new applications or even merging with other healthcare institutions? Make sure your current network can support the incoming technology needs by understanding the current bandwidth, security, and IT requirements.
Collaborate with Wireless Experts
A team of wireless experts can help you understand and maintain your wireless network. Working with an organization that specializes in the healthcare industry can help you think of hiccups that you may not envision. Comport’s wireless healthcare experts take the time to understand your technology environment coupled with you healthcare business needs. We look at everything from access point needs, device security, medical internet of things (MIoT) requirements, medical applications, legacy equipment, guest access, and more, all within the context of creating the best wireless infrastructure for your organization.
Install the Wireless Network
Let our team work with you to monitor your controllers and access points to ensure your network is running as smoothly as it can be. If an access point (AP) goes bad, our team can quickly flag the problem and get it replaced to ensure continuity of services. Or if someone breaches your network, having an expert at your fingertips to discuss the issue and get back up and running as fast as possible is critical in maintaining high levels of patient care.
Improve Your Wireless Network Design Today
Optimizing your hospital and clinic wireless network design is essential for delivering better patient care and improving the efficiency of your organization. Ensure your healthcare facility is equipped with the best wireless network design today and in the future by reaching out to Comport to help create a wireless healthcare strategy.
Or get started with a wireless assessment to help you achieve your goals. Improve your healthcare wireless network design today and experience the benefits of better connectivity, efficiency, and patient outcomes.
Bill Flatley, Field CTO for Healthcare
Bill is responsible for technical strategies and recommendations for Comport’s Healthcare clients. His extensive experience includes four healthcare systems in leadership roles supporting Clinical Applications, Digital Health, and Office of the CIO as the primary liaison between IT and the business. He resides in Minneapolis and is available to advise any Comport healthcare client, regardless of location.
