Healthcare systems and hospitals are continually innovating to prepare for next-generation technologies—and finding that Wi-Fi cannot fully support the demands of today’s clinical mobility solutions. That’s where 5G, another wireless technology, can close the connectivity gap and enhance a hospital’s existing wireless infrastructure.
Understanding the Role of Wi-Fi in Hospitals
Wi-Fi is ideal for connecting fixed local devices within a limited area, such as a hospital facility, to support patient monitoring and electronic medical records (EMRs).
However, some of the main limitations of Wi-Fi include limited bandwidth and issues with latency (a measurement of lag time). And, as hospitals steadily add new mobile devices, they may experience network congestion and slowdowns, which can impact the speed of diagnoses and affect the delivery of care.
Enhancing Healthcare with 5G
5G represents the fifth generation of cellular or mobile network technology, designed to significantly improve the speed, reliability, and capacity of wireless networks. 5G devices switch between the mmWave, low-band, and mid-band spectrum, finding the fastest available band. In a hospital setting, a commercial cellular operator uses fixed commercial frequencies on radios installed within the hospital’s facilities to extend its overall network through all hospital buildings.
5G is well-suited for care teams as it can support remote patient monitoring, medical imaging, and real-time data sharing, while its high data transfer rates can significantly reduce the time it takes to transmit data for analysis.
Examining Data Security with 5G
Regarding data security and transmitting sensitive healthcare data, it’s important to note that 5G can use a public or private cellular network. Both of these are more secure than a public internet network as they utilize end-to-end, hardware-based encryption standards, including 5G’s confidentiality and integrity protocols, to protect data in transit.
Hospitals using a hybrid 5G infrastructure can use private, carrier-operated (just like private fiber) services directly connected to the hospital network. There is no need for VPN concentrators or firewalls dedicated to these devices’ mobility, which greatly reduces the cost and complexity of clinical mobility.
Recognizing Infrastructure Limitations
Many existing Wi-Fi systems in hospitals and health systems struggle to handle additional traffic on their network, for example, to increase their levels of telehealth visits or offer devices to facilitate mobile or home-based care. These older infrastructures are not fully optimized to support the adoption of new technologies, such as 5G-enabled critical care devices.
Getting Ready for 5G
Looking ahead at future technology needs and evolving digital footprints, many hospitals will find that 5G can complement existing Wi-Fi systems to support clinical mobility and unconditional connectivity. A properly designed 5G/Wi-Fi hybrid network offers clinical staff high capacity and promotes nearly real-time communications between care teams. With faster access to patient and administrative data, regardless of location, providers can spend less time overcoming technical challenges and more time caring for their patients.
Learn more about how to evaluate your network capacity and enable clinical mobility:
Boston Children’s Hospital worked with Pixel Health and T-Mobile for Business to create an innovative hospital-based hybrid cellular 5G network.
Get the full details on how 5G can revolutionize healthcare connectivity beyond the limits of Wi-Fi.
