Facility Readiness Case Study: Ensuring Your Clinicians Are Connected When They Need to Be

Smart phones, tablets, smart watches … it seems that everyone, everywhere has one of these devices on-hand at all times, and hospitals are no exception. That’s why Crossings Healthcare Solutions knew it had to solve the mobile Wi-Fi challenges faced by 26 Universal Health Services, Inc. (UHS) acute care facilities.

The Facility Readiness solution was created to meet hospital Wi-Fi needs across a range of mobile devices, applications and vendors. The main challenge was to ensure a quality wireless signal that would keep clinicians connected in and out of healthcare facilities. Beginning with a strong initial framework built on best practices, Crossings delivered network performance and flexibility that clinicians are able to effectively use.

First things first

Industry best practices were researched to develop a wireless infrastructure framework design to fit healthcare needs. Meeting the needs of so many clinicians using different mobile devices and various applications was a daunting task in itself. There was little room for trial and error in these time-sensitive, high integration healthcare environments. “The real challenge we faced right off the bat was that we only had one chance to give them a solution — it needed to work from the onset,” says Zaw Lin, MBA, MSIST, Director, Information Services at UHS. “If they couldn’t use it easily, they could get frustrated and be unable to complete their work – ultimately impacting adoption.”

The Crossings team performed an exhaustive, on-site assessment of the existing wireless capabilities at all 26 hospitals, each with its own environmental, safety and infrastructure challenges. The assessments included in-depth analysis and troubleshooting on a device level.

Creating a comprehensive solution

The Facility Readiness effort aimed to optimize wireless capabilities for five projects: Cerner® Infusion Management for BD Infusion Pumps; Cerner VitalsLink® for Philips® VS4 and Masimo® Root (EtCO2); Cerner CareAware Connect® for Zebra® TC51; Cerner Capacity Management for Apple® iPod touch; and Cerner Camera Capture® for Apple iPod touch.

To do this, the Facility Readiness solution solved issues with slow data transmission, coverage, power density, and signal and channel overlap. “Our focus was not just those five projects, but to improve Wi-Fi as much as possible. Creating the framework was huge, as it can help all other future projects to be successful,” Lin says. The Crossings team performed remediation efforts and partnered with various vendors to get the solution just right.

The outcome: Success

All 26 UHS acute care facilities implemented the Facility Readiness solution with immediate positive results — which means, in short, clinicians like it and use it. “We have fewer Wi-Fi issues at facilities,” Lin reports. “The result is in our high adoption numbers across all five projects.”

Because Crossings designed the solution to establish a long-term strategy for success in future projects, Lin and the team are confident that Facility Readiness is just the beginning of more great things to come. With this solution, Crossings is ready to help your organization tackle its connectivity challenges.

To learn more, contact Susan Armbruster at [email protected].