Managing Digital Relationships in Healthcare

Connected care is a beautiful thing, but in reality the concept is only as good as the connections that enable it. The healthcare industry is facing an uphill battle in continuing to become more digitally connected, especially in rural areas. Providers continue to work to improve the patient experience while also being careful not to create new pain points in the healthcare system due to inadequacies in technology access.

Here are a few key areas for healthcare organizations to consider when evaluating their connectivity options:

• Embracing the New Norm of Telehealth Visits
  Investing in the right tools to better support the patient-physician interaction is key to finding success with telehealth visits. A fast and reliable internet connection, such as Business Fiber Internet, has proven to be valuable in today’s world, and the healthcare industry is no exception. The most compatible internet partnerships for healthcare allow multiple devices to be connected at once without a lag in speed.
• Finding A Digital Solutions Partner
  When operating a network of more than 100 hospitals and clinics located in rural areas of Kentucky and West Virginia, Appalachian Regional Healthcare (ARH) needed to ensure they had a redundant network that would guarantee high-speed connectivity and zero downtime. Afterall, around 400,000 lives depend on this not-for-profit health system. “Kinetic Business has been a true business partner to us. They have a local presence, are always accessible and highly responsive to our needs,” said Troy Patterson, Telecommunications Manager, ARH. “They were willing to invest in our future.” Ever since administering a strong, reliable network foundation through Kinetic Business’s SD-WAN services, ARH has experienced a significant reduction in outages across their locations nestled amongst the Appalachian Mountains. When any circuit goes down at any of the locations, the second circuit kicks in to keep the location running to prevent disruption. A collaborative partnership is a crucial piece, it could be one antidote to countless pain points that physicians and many others in the healthcare system encounter daily.
• Protecting Confidentiality at All Costs
  Healthcare systems nationwide are all too familiar with the costs associated with HIPAA violations. It is vital to the success of each system to ensure digital security at all times. A software-defined wide area network (SD-WAN) might be just the answer to:
  • Improve network performance
  • Transfer sensitive data- including massive imaging files- efficiently and securely.
  • Virtually eliminate downtime with active/active failover
  • Allow healthcare system operators and managers to see what devices and networks are doing, ensuring security at all times and protecting confidential patient data.
  • Reduce operating costs

Healthcare IT solutions should fuel innovations like telemedicine to empower providers and maximize patient experiences. For more tips on finding business solutions to meet your needs, tune into the Connecting Business Podcast to hear business experts discuss real solutions in a post-COVID-19 environment.