As the demand for Wi-Fi enabled devices grows for the operation and management of businesses — especially those in healthcare — Wi-Fi technology itself must grow. Luckily Wi-Fi 6 technology has arrived with a speed of 9.6 Gbps.
This higher speed is not designed for single computer use. This speed is meant to be split up across a whole network of devices. That means faster speeds for each device connected to a Wi-Fi 6 network. This is important in busy environments because the devices will be able to maintain top speeds no matter how many devices are using the Wi-Fi connection, providing more reliability and capability.
The efficient operation of Wi-Fi 6e is the equivalent of Wi-Fi 6 but provides non-overlapping channels. This provides benefits of wider channels but with channel diversity.
Technological Challenges the Healthcare Industry Faces
Up-to-date and accurate records, patient’s schedules, claims, and bills have to be accessed instantaneously, sometimes because it’s a matter of life and death. However, the efficiency of the Patient Management Software (PMS) can be slowed depending on the Wi-Fi connection used between systems. Problems that arise from healthcare devices and software struggling with efficiency and security due to an earlier generation Wi-Fi network are:
- Access to records takes longer than desired
- Accuracy of records are not always up-to-date when accessed
- Security passwords and data may be compromised more easily
- Battery lives of mobile platforms are drained faster
Another technological challenge the healthcare industry faces is security problems due to a Wi-Fi network’s security protocol being obsolete or out-of-date. If a security protocol of a Wi-Fi network allows the constant guessing of passwords, this can compromise patient privacy and healthcare records.
With healthcare mobile equipment used to enter and access up-to-date patient information, battery life can be an issue. Healthcare mobile platforms that need to constantly keep their Wi-Fi antennas powered on to transmit and search for signals tend to drain batteries faster. This can lead to downtime or the unavailability of equipment for use on patients.
Benefits of Wi-Fi 6 Technology in Healthcare
Of course, the major benefit of Wi-Fi 6 technology in the healthcare industry is the speed at which information can be made up-to-date and accessible.
Security is also improved with a Wi-Fi 6 upgrade. Wi-Fi 6 provides a new security protocol called WPA3, which makes passwords harder to obtain by constantly guessing them and it makes some data less useful if nefariously obtained.
The battery life can be improved on some healthcare mobile equipment by a Wi-Fi 6 upgrade. Wi-Fi 6 has a feature called Target Wake Time that schedules device check-in times with the router. This helps with healthcare mobile systems that do not need internet access all the time. For healthcare mobile equipment that just needs to update its status now and then, this feature of Wi-Fi 6 will mean less drain on batteries and less taxation on the whole Wi-Fi network.
Now that you know the importance of how tech advancements impact the healthcare industry, the realization of how Wi-Fi 6 technology can benefit other industries should be considered. Manufacturing, commercial, industrial, institutional and government sectors can benefit from Wi-Fi 6 technology as the number of Wi-Fi devices continues to be added to operate these sectors at an optimum level.