Since the first case of coronavirus was identified in the country, the health system in Brazil and other parts of the world has been preparing for what has become one of the most challenging and overwhelming pandemics in recent decades.
The large number of patients going to different hospitals has proven to push infrastructure and staff - including healthcare CIOs - to the limit in some parts of the country.
Serving us as an example in this article, COVID-19 has forced cities across the country to take social distancing measures to reduce the spread of the virus. These precautions are helping to reduce contact between healthy and infected patients and, consequently, reducing the volume of patients seeking hospital care.
However, despite many of the efforts made by the federal government and local states to curb the spread of the virus, hospitals are receiving infected patients with deteriorating conditions and they are quickly becoming overwhelmed.
While doctors and nurses are doing everything they can to care for patients in need, healthcare CIOs and other IT leaders are also taking steps to ensure that their IT environment and support staff are prepared to deal with the potential increase ahead, as well as seeking a better ROI on the investments made and increasingly improving the patient experience.
This includes make sure that all infrastructure systems are operational and ready for the additional volume and stress they are likely to face.
The additional workload on the IT infrastructure comes from additional staff members being called in to help with patients, the additional clinical transactions in the electronic medical records systems, the increase in data consumption, the increase in medical images to support chest X-rays and MRI scans needed to coronavirus patients and other systems and network traffic.
Here, we identify five areas that healthcare CIOs are monitoring to ensure that even in times of global crisis, they can focus on investments through better ROI and patient experience, something critical at this time.
1. The network must be ready for more traffic
To ensure that the network infrastructure can support the increased volume without causing disruption and without jeopardizing budgets, IT administrators are reviewing the status of their network, carrying out network health checks to determine whether any changes need to be made.
2. Wireless connectivity is more critical than ever
Hospitals facing a shortage of beds to treat patients are having to build makeshift staging areas using tents outside their facilities to accommodate the increased volume of patients in some of the worst-affected areas.
As a result, some hospitals' wireless networks must be extended and made available off-site in areas such as parking lots. This expansion of wireless networks may require additional hardware and infrastructure changes in order to give the hospital the flexibility it needs. support change and provide a good experience for patients by reducing estrangement from their families.
3. Maintaining the safety of infrastructure support team members
Doctors and nurses who help patients must also take precautions to ensure that they are protected from the virus, the IT team must take similar measures to stay healthy in order to be able to support the hospital's critical systems.
A common approach that healthcare CIOs are taking to protect their staff while continuing to support all of the hospital's critical systems is to allow some members of the IT team to work remotely, while keeping a subset of these support technicians on site.
For on-site IT staff supporting critical systems, security training must be provided and all the standard measures that clinical staff must undergo must also be followed.
4. A clear outline of the main collaboration and communication tools required
With hospitals offering their non-clinical staff the option of working from home, healthcare CIOs are now improving their IM and collaboration tools.
Many are implementing additional training for their remote employees for applications such as Skype, Microsoft Teams, Slack or Zoom to ensure that they feel comfortable using them.
Another component that CIOs are considering when preparing for more users to work remotely is the use of a virtual desktop infrastructure to provide remote access to applications such as registration systems, revenue cycle management and other important hospital systems that users require.
5. Tracking critical assets is becoming even more critical
Since many hospitals are concerned about shortages around some medical equipment, including ventilators and respirators needed to support and treat patients infected with the coronavirus, IT should implement asset tracking systems if they don't already have them in use.
The challenge that remains for a new normal
Although CIOs have reacted quickly and implemented tools that have enabled a real revolution in the medical sector, the challenge now is sustainability.
These investments have disrupted IT budget cycles, jeopardized ROI and called into question the extent to which a good patient experience can be provided at a time when health systems are facing a lack of funding due to the postponement of routine appointments and elective surgeries.
CIOs are being asked to stretch their budgets now more than ever to keep the lights on, improve virtual capabilities and invest in new digital technologies, but the availability of funds to accomplish these tasks can be problematic.
In the coming months, CIOs will have the challenge of offering and maintaining support for new digital tools and operating models, and will need to adapt to do both, despite budget constraints.
Conversys can help your company meet the challenges of reducing costs and optimizing IT investments. Contact our experts now and find out about Aruba Networks' security, network management and connectivity solutions.
We are on hand to help you overcome this challenge.
About Conversys
Conversys IT Solutions is a provider of Information and Communication Technology services and solutions operating throughout Brazil.
With a highly qualified technical and commercial team and a network of partners that includes the main global technology manufacturers, Conversys IT Solutions is able to deliver customized IT and Telecom Infrastructure solutions to clients.
We invest in our employees and partners and strive for a long-lasting relationship with our clients, because we believe that this is how we gain the skills and knowledge we need to innovate and generate value for the businesses in which we operate.
