It wasn’t too long ago that all our medical records were stored on paper, an in-person doctor’s visit was required and getting results for X-rays and CT scans took time. However, thanks to some key networking milestones over the past two decades, healthcare facilities are generating, sharing and storing information quicker and more detailed than ever before.
Driven by significant growth in digitized clinical data and new eHealth applications from EHRs (electronic health records), imaging files and advanced telehealth services that need to be networked among stakeholders in today’s healthcare ecosystem, healthcare as a whole is looking to next-generation network architectures to support these ever-increasing bandwidth requirements in a cost-effective manner.
In order to transmit MRI images and conduct HD video consultations, diagnosis and research, these networks must work at higher speeds and capacities to deliver these critical services that are becoming the norm.
To address this challenge, healthcare providers are adopting converged packet-optical networking and Ethernet infrastructures to ensure their critical patient data is delivered quickly and reliably throughout their networks.
Thanks to these networking advances, patients can take control of their own healthcare via mobile applications on smartphones and tablets, such as those that can monitor blood pressure and glucose levels, while also being able to communicate and consult remotely with physicians in real-time via HD video or patient portals, to enhance the patient/doctor relationship.
These high-capacity networks are designed to be extremely reliable and scalable to meet the needs of a broad set of demanding clinical and non-clinical users, today and in the future.
Healthcare facilities are leveraging these networks as a strategic and adaptive business asset to compete and win market share. The network has transformed from a virtually unknown entity to a strategic force that dramatically impacts the safety and quality of patient care and operational effectiveness, delivering information where it’s needed and when it’s needed.
Now, a network that is ultra-fast, intelligent and secure provides a major competitive advantage for any industry, especially healthcare.
Edited by
Braden Becker
