Role of Networks and the Internet of Things in the Healthcare Industry

The healthcare industry is undergoing a significant digital transformation with healthcare providers leveraging new technologies to do more with less. Secure access of a patient’s Electronic Medical Records (EMR) and their diagnostic test results in real time from virtually any device has not only improved a health care provider’s operational efficiency but also provide a much more accurate diagnosis of a patient’s condition and treatment plan.

The benefits of employing digital technologies such as e-prescriptions, connected wearable devices, and Remote Patient Monitoring are clear, regarding both operational efficiency and patient health.

However, the increased complexity these new technologies introduce to a health care provider’s networks can be responsible for performance issues and potential vulnerabilities. To make matters worse, multiple vendors supply many of the critical services and applications essential to a health care provider, thereby; IT teams need to make added efforts to ensure all moving parts are aligned to work effortlessly with each other, to provide smooth results. All these services work in various environments such as physical and virtualized, as well as in private, public, and hybrid cloud platforms, complicating the process further and making full visibility difficult.

Issues related to network and infrastructure complexities and multi-vendor technologies can have an adverse impact on a healthcare provider’s ability to deliver high-quality patient care. Therefore, it is not hard to see, how networks, application or service downtime can be especially challenging for health care providers, even when it is scheduled. Additionally, an unscheduled outage can further increase problems for hospitals and healthcare providers.

In order to improve business efficiency and quality of services, healthcare providers need to be on the constant lookout for new innovations and technologies, particularly in the IoT space. Development of digital technologies in the face of a constant and growing threat to network performance from cybercriminals critically needs comprehensive visibility, robust service, and security assurance.