Performance Management is a Game-Changer for Hospital Wi-Fi | Blog

Fast, reliable Wi-Fi allows caregivers to focus on providing excellent healthcare

In a hospital, a reliable Wi-Fi network isn’t just about convenience – it’s linked to the delivery of critical services, from IV pumps to oxygen monitors. Every second a network is down could have the potential to contribute to a life-threatening situation.

But trying to diagnose network issues without the right diagnostic tools isn’t just frustrating – it’s often pointless.

It becomes difficult to determine if a problem is wired, wireless, or device-related. And the more time a hospital’s medical devices are offline or the Electronic Health Records (EHR) can’t connect, the more patient safety and care can suffer.

Hospitals are increasingly reliant on wireless devices: Forbes magazine reports that the market for medical Internet of Things (IoT) devices alone will reach $136.8 billion by 2021 – with 3.7 million devices already in use. Legacy Wi-Fi networks aren’t equipped to handle the fast-growing number of wireless devices demanding access – and too often it causes them to slow down or stop working altogether.

Wi-Fi outages are relatively common in healthcare; a Becker’s “Hospital Review” report states that 96 percent of 50 large medical institutions surveyed had recently experienced at least one unplanned system downtime. Big hospitals lose a minimum of $1 million for every hour a system is down, the report said.

But money is far from the biggest concern when an unhealthy network puts the health of a hospital’s patients at risk.

Troubleshoot Wi-Fi issues in 30 seconds or less

7SIGNAL ensures that connectivity issues don’t deter doctors and other caregivers from delivering the highest quality of patient care. Our automated performance management solutions significantly reduce the time and money hospitals spend on Wi-Fi issues, troubleshooting problems in 30 seconds or less.

7SIGNAL ensures that hospitals experience fewer issues with their wireless networks, no matter where caregivers and patients roam in the building. It relies on a system of sensors, clients, apps, and agents that measure performance from the hospital’s point of view and proactively reports where Wi-Fi experiences are bad (and why) before a helpdesk call is ever made.

7SIGNAL stands out from other products on the market with the ability to measure the wireless network and device, providing both passive and active holistic views of the network.

Its solution “lives on the edge” where wireless experiences matter most: out in the environment. It runs continuously in the background, analyzing what’s occurring in the air between medical devices and access points, and alerting the IT team the instant a problem is detected.

7 reasons 7SIGNAL is the right choice for hospitals

Here are seven ways hospitals like Kaiser Permanente are reaping the benefits of becoming a 7SIGNAL “Connected Hospital:”

• A secure infrastructure that produces automated reporting and alerts to ensure servicing requirements are met and don't become unavailable at a critical time.

• Every device is securely connected to the EHR to guarantee accurate patient records. 7SIGNAL also helps improve the performance of connected devices, including Workstations on Wheels (WoWs), Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) devices, smart beds, and EKGs.

• Nurses can monitor patients remotely from one main station, receiving alerts and observing data captured each second on the patients’ health. With each hospital patient connected to an average of three to six devices during their stay, manually documenting this information is a significant drain on nurses’ time and limits the number of patients each can visit as few as four per hour.

• Doctors can make more informed decisions with accurate and up-to-date patient information, leading to better patient outcomes.

• Patients and their families can feel safe, knowing that consistent wireless will enable the correct dosage of the right medication and the greatest care from medical staff, and they will be more comfortable not being tied down by wired medical devices.

• Communication with other family members and the staff is reliable, and personal devices can be used for entertainment purposes while waiting for care.

• Medicare won’t reimburse hospitals for readmissions that occur within 30 days for the same complaint. 7SIGNAL Connected Hospitals reduce readmissions by providing better patient care, including education on ways patients can improve and monitor their health at home and the scheduling of follow-up appointments before discharge. They also enable doctors to monitor patients’ progress through remote home health monitoring.

Connected devices and workstations have become an intrinsic part of the day-to-day operations of hospitals. That makes fast, reliable Wi-Fi more critical than ever. Hospitals that implement 7SIGNAL’s Wi-Fi performance management solutions report a reduction in patient safety issues, increased patient satisfaction, and rapid helpdesk resolutions. And that leaves doctors and other caregivers free to do what’s mission-critical: deliver the highest quality of patient care.

7SIGNAL offers Wi-Fi performance management solutions that ensure connectivity issues don’t prevent hospitals from delivering exceptional patient care. Contact us to learn about becoming a 7SIGNAL Connected Hospital, improving patient satisfaction, reducing medical errors, and enjoying rapid resolution of network problems.