5G Readiness for Healthcare

By: Eric B. Abbott and Chris Wixom

This article aims to present a nuanced perspective on the application and potential of 5G communications in healthcare.

The Case for Readiness

Today’s 5G technology offers unparalleled large coverage performance advantages to healthcare systems contemplating a hybrid approach to wireless services. While WiFi remains a very cost-effective wireless transport option for healthcare systems, not all healthcare campus patrons (i.e., patients and visitors) may use WiFi services, and there are some inherent at-scale sizing considerations. For IT decision leaders contemplating the use of 5G in a healthcare environment, one of the clear benefits is that it alleviates capacity demands that would otherwise be placed on a “life-mission” WiFi network. Additionally, 5G service gives healthcare enterprises decided options to stratify and segment enterprise wireless traffic in order to create wireless networking resiliency in the event that WiFi traffic is compromised.

Building the Rationale

Principally, the networking environment that 5G wireless offers accelerates digital transformation initiatives, particularly with respect to the adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI) solutions. This is because the standard is designed for ultra-low latency communications using an edge-compute topology that aligns to cloud-based or on-premise services much like a hand fitting precisely into a fitted glove. Taking this analogy one step further, 5G networking gives healthcare organizations the means to accelerate their IT investments in performance IT, sustainability (think operational technology or OT), and AI-based services without burdening the existing WiFi network to perform beyond its design constraints. And, thoughtful implementations that bridge external building coverage (such as the campus parking lot) with internal building coverage (i.e., the Emergency Department), provides a cohesive way to ensure continuity of service performance without loss of fidelity. This is particularly important with respect to capacity and command management solutions that rely on location-based services for governance of patient and clinician movements, as well as asset management.

5G – Towards a Multi-Modal Services Future

Additional services that 5G networking enhances are patient experiential platforms (examples being augmented and mixed reality), wayfinding, patient and clinician education and training, robotic systems, safety and security services (that employ computer vision methods), and automation and orchestration of building services for sustainability that use integrated batch or real-time data pipelines for patron safety.

5G is also an archetype wireless technology that helps prepare a healthcare organization for the future of AI-inference mobility services, in which location-based services, edge decision making, haptics, and other sensory channels are merged with communication pathways to create a sophisticated ‘services mesh’ that is integrated with and to other devices and networks to achieve a pervasive web of on-demand human and digital intelligence. Towards this objective, new business models are possible such as sophisticated home care that extends the virtual footprint of the healthcare enterprise into the communities that it serves, or sophisticated clinical trials using real-time biometrics and physiological channels from trial participants, or complete facility automation of powered carts, robots, and co-bots that are summoned by clinicians, patients, and/or care bots. Such a future awaits for those that are willing to go big in smart ways.

Taking Action

While this is exciting, it can be hard for decision makers to understand and keep up with such dramatic changes. Change creates opportunities for leaders in healthcare to make incredible impacts for their businesses and communities. However, it also increases the risk of making mistakes. Nobody wants to invest millions of dollars in a solution that fails to live up to its potential. Nonetheless, below are some key steps to keep in mind to optimize success:

• Start with a question. Is your infrastructure meeting today’s demands and is it ready for tomorrow’s predicted needs? How are you progressing toward digital transformation and what role does wireless and its associated applications play in your organization’s strategic initiatives?
• Study healthcare systems that have already successfully deployed 5G: have you thought through how you can emulate their successes?
• Develop an overarching infrastructure plan and take incremental steps towards that plan, proving success and the associated ROI.
• Leverage partners with expertise in this space. This includes wireless carriers as well as a variety of manufacturers/vendors, integrators, consultants and managed service providers, all of whom can help strengthen your plans as well as provide design and implementation capabilities.
• Evaluate unique financial models that can help alleviate budget constraints by leveraging managed service companies to change CAPEX investments into OPEX based models.

The road ahead can be challenging: experienced partners are here to assist in your journey.