In today’s digitalized world, a healthy IT infrastructure is critical to the success of any industry. However, network conditions are even more important in the world of healthcare, as they involve the health and often, the lives of patients. Therefore, reliable network monitoring is required so that all data used by healthcare providers can be used properly at all times.

Jobs ranging from entering patient data to notifying doctors of urgent needs require every network component to work optimally at all times. As technology advances, the healthcare business network evolves and expands. Patients can schedule doctor visits or get prescriptions from their mobile phones. So, what is the importance of network monitoring and its benefits in the healthcare world? Find out more below.

5 Benefits of Network Monitoring in Healthcare

Here are some important benefits of network monitoring in the healthcare world:

1. Keeping Medical Devices Up and Running Smoothly

As the Internet of Things (IoT) becomes increasingly important in the healthcare industry, any device that connects and transmits health data from patient to doctor, whether wired or wireless, must be monitored. Devices within the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) can be monitored to ensure they are functioning and providing the most accurate data possible.

With a healthy network, doctors can ensure that they always get the most accurate and up-to-date patient data from X-ray and MRI machines, ultrasound machines, and more. Another example is ventilators, which can be monitored to alert their administrators of potential faults or issues before the device breaks down and consequently fails to maintain the health and safety of the patient.

2. Remote Patient Monitoring

With the help of IoMT, patient care can now go beyond clinic and hospital settings. Remote patient monitoring via health devices can be applied to devices such as glucose monitors, pacemakers, Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) machines, blood pressure or pulse monitors, and many more.

These devices can help doctors get key health data from their patients 24 hours a day. Network monitoring solutions can help keep the network strong so that information from IoMT can be received by doctors faster.

Plus, the advent of telemedicine makes network monitoring even more important. IT teams at healthcare providers need to ensure that their networks have adequate bandwidth and reliable connections so that doctors can take advantage of video appointments with patients who cannot come to the hospital in person.

3. Accurate Medical Records

In today’s healthcare world, most medical records are electronic and such systems need to be monitored and maintained. However, if the hospital network is not managed properly, things like application errors can be overlooked. These errors can compromise the accuracy of patient information, leading to unsatisfactory healthcare services.

If the IT team can identify problems that occur on the network and fix them with solutions and in a timely manner, then medical record problems will not occur. Network monitoring tools can prevent these issues well.

4. Monitoring for non-medical Medical Devices

Beyond the medical devices at a healthcare provider, the facility also needs to be kept safe and secure for the safety of patients, doctors, and staff. Network monitoring tools can monitor the facility to keep it operating properly. For example, thermostats, power supplies, and more.

What’s more, communication and messaging devices such as intercoms and email servers are also very important to monitor so that staff can stay connected at all times. Network monitoring tools can even be used to ensure that security and alarm systems are functioning properly and ready whenever needed.

5. A Proactive Approach to Monitoring Health Services

In the past, reactive network monitoring, which responds as soon as there is a problem, may have been sufficient. But now networks are getting more complicated and the need for networks is also increasing, especially in the healthcare industry. Monitoring the network at all times is necessary to ensure that health services can be carried out smoothly and precisely.

Real-time network monitoring will make it easier for the IT team to spot potential problems. That way, before the problem occurs and affects the performance of health services, it can be handled properly. The result? Patients will get better service.

The Dangers of Not Monitoring Networks in Healthcare

There are several problems that may be faced if healthcare providers such as clinics and hospitals do not maintain their networks properly. The top three problems are:

1. Power Outage = Downtime

Imagine a sudden power outage in a hospital that is seeing dozens, even hundreds of patients. The Electronic Medical Record (EMR) system would stop tracking, medical devices would be inoperable, and hospital operations would experience downtime.

All the work has to be done manually, but the problem is that not everything can still be handled manually. If a patient uses an electronic respirator, it can have a very bad effect on the patient’s life safety. There are manual respirators, but they don’t necessarily work.

2. Healthcare Component Failure Issues

Network failures can cause a variety of different problems. A malfunctioning EMR system requires staff to manually record patient information, so human errors may increase. In addition, the handling of prescriptions is likely to be delayed, patients will have to wait longer, and queues will lengthen.

Various hardware devices used by healthcare providers will also malfunction, posing a great danger to patients’ health. Therefore, it is important to monitor the network at all times and of course use standardized hardware.

3. Patient Data Leak

Network security is very important in healthcare providers as it contains patients’ personal data. Leaked medical records are even sold on the black market for a very high price and can be misused by irresponsible parties. It’s not just the patients who are severely harmed, clinics and hospitals will also lose their reputation.

The modern healthcare industry relies heavily on network conditions. A reliable network monitoring tool can take healthcare to the next level. Therefore, make sure to use a quality network monitoring solution, such as Netmonk.As the first network monitoring solution provider from Indonesia that simplifies the complexity of network problems, Netmonk can be relied on to monitor networks comprehensively. Find the products offered on the Netmonk web now.