There are a lot of benefits to be derived from being connected to the hospital network.
In this era of electronic records, it allows for easier and faster access to patient information at any time of the day. This will make the business of patient monitoring and follow up easier. One can call up patient information at the click of the button and give instructions on care or even monitor laboratory parameters.
Also, it saves a lot of time which is lost in transferring radiology results from one department to another. One can call up the radiology information exactly when it is ready and treatment can be initiated there and then. This also saves a lot of time and stress in looking for radiology results.
Turn-over time for laboratory results is also reduced. It is possible to call in lab results immediately they are ready and so decisions on patient management can also be instituted as soon as possible.
Patient medication can also be monitored real time. It is faster to validate patient prescriptions so that they get their drugs on time, and the wrong drugs don’t fall into the wrong patient’s hands, especially controlled drugs like narcotics.
It will also save more time when doing administrative work since all offices are connected on the network.
The network utilization is currently 40%, meaning that the network still has enough capacity to serve the need of users. It is far from being saturated, which could be a headache because it would cause the network to be slow. This should be a form of encouragement because no time would be lost by operating on the network.
REFERENCES
J Cummings (2008). Hospital reaps healthy returns from wireless: Swedish Medical Center's new wireless network results in better patient care and revenue boost. Networkworld. accessed on 20th January 2012 from http://www.networkworld.com/news/2008/020408-it-roadmap-swedish-medical-center.html
River Cities’ Reader (2006). Hospital Wi-Fi Network Brings Benefits to Genesis Guests, Health-Care Providers. River Cities' Reader. accessed on 20th January 2012 from http://www.rcreader.com/news/hospital-wifi-network-brings-benefits/
V Esme (2010). Hospitals shift to electronic records, wireless mobility benefits Wi-Fi Vendors. MuniWireless. Accessed on 20th January 2012 from http://www.muniwireless.com/2010/08/09/hospitals-electronic-records-mobility-benefits-wifi-vendors/
