How IT support services improve patient care – Part 2

IT support services enhance healthcare operations in numerous ways, not least of which is bettering the quality of patient care. In part two of our series, we take a look at some of the practical applications for managed IT services and how they directly lead to healthier, safer and happier medical patients.

Better uptime for critical systems

Uptime is a pernicious force any industry, but it's much more harmful in the healthcare space. When critical systems go down, more than money is at stake - patients' well-being and safety could be at risk.

Even if emergency systems are in place to keep life-saving medical devices online, seemingly less urgent downtime events can have a domino effect on a facility's ability to provide adequate patient care.

Imagine a situation in which patient admissions systems go offline and hospital administrators must resort to manual processing methods. Inevitably, fewer patients will be able to receive care quickly, in turn exacerbating illnesses and acute injuries the longer they're left untreated.

There's also the possibility that entire databases of lab results could be wiped out or left unavailable at critical moments. This could delay treatment or require a patient to be subjected to another round of invasive testing such as lumbar punctures or biopsies.

Achieving high uptime standards with on-site systems can be an expensive proposition, but managed IT services can provide relief. With multiple failover locations and a wide data center footprint, IT service providers are in a position to minimize downtime without necessitating a major upfront investment. In this way, healthcare facilities get the best of both worlds.

Supporting healthcare IoT

The Internet of Things has had a profound impact on the healthcare industry, introducing numerous connected medical devices to the network environments of hospitals across the country. Wearables provide physicians with direct access to the up-to-the-minute information regarding patient health, including important vitals and lifestyle choices. Then there are the slew of IoT devices active in medical facilities, from administrative tablets to sensor-equipped hospital beds.

A recent PricewaterhouseCoopers report identified the IoT as one of the biggest priorities for the healthcare community this year. In addition to securing those devices, medical facilities need to have the kind of always-on, high-quality network performance to adequately support the IoT.

IT support services ensure hospital networks have the bandwidth needed to maintain low latency and steady traffic flow even with the inclusion of numerous connected devices. Rather than invest heavily in infrastructure upgrades to achieve cutting-edge network capabilities, medical administrators can work with a managed IT service provider to reach those same heights at a fraction of the cost.

One important factor to keep in mind when vetting IT vendors is their proximity to your operations. While some geographical redundancy is good for disaster recovery purposes, having your IT partner nearby to respond to pressing on-site issues provides peace of mind that you're in good hands.

Based out of Midtown Manhattan, TEKConn can respond to any problem in the blink of an eye, offering the most hands-on support to be found in the New York City area.