Collage of healthcare items

We are in an era marked by a consistent wave of unprecedented technological advancements. With that comes the importance of seamless connectivity. From health tech revolutions of wearables, telehealth visits, remote patient monitoring, apps and AI-driven solutions, high-speed Internet providing unparalleled reliability and bandwidth capacity is necessary to maximize all the new tools healthcare professionals can use to support their patients, especially senior patients.

Dark Fiber Enhancing Security for Healthcare

Beyond regular business fiber, businesses in the healthcare industry can take advantage of what is called “dark fiber.” Dark fiber refers to fiber cables not being used or lit (service provider transmitting data). Dark Fiber is exclusively leased to an organization, making it a private network and giving healthcare providers complete control. It also has the benefit of only being accessible by the two endpoints of the fiber cable, enhancing its security from cyberattacks. Healthcare businesses can ensure their patient information is securely shared and data transmission procedures comply with federal and state regulations like HIPAA. 

Fiber and Tech Innovations

For senior care providers, healthcare tech is vital to their success as they face staffing shortages. According to the American Health Care Association and National Center For Assisted Living

"Nearly every nursing home (99%) and assisted living community (96%) in the U.S is facing a staffing shortage." 

infographics for staffing shortages

They are leaving providers to do more with less, so they need to have fiber Internet to run modern and emerging health tech.

Telehealth

Telehealth improves accessibility to services by reducing inequities that marginalized people have faced. It ensures that people with disabilities, limited mobility or transportation challenges have equal access to healthcare via remote consultations. Healthcare providers rely on these real-time video consultations to connect with patients. Fiber Internet ensures smooth and uninterrupted video streams, enabling healthcare professionals to deliver personalized care and support their patients remotely.

Remote Patient Monitoring 

Remote patient monitoring (RPM) allows providers to monitor patients' vital signs and health metrics without having them be in the office. This allows residents in independent and assisted living to maintain some autonomy and for nursing home staff to maintain their residents' safety despite being understaffed. From wearable devices to IoT-enabled sensors, RPM solutions generate vast amounts of data that require fast, secure and reliable Internet connectivity.

AI

According to an article from www.coursera.org , with AI's latest innovation and support, healthcare professionals can diagnose, create personalized treatment plans and predict patient survival rates. Healthcare analytics leverage machine learning (ML) algorithms to extract insights from historical data, enhancing decision-making and optimizing health outcomes. AI tailors personalized treatment plans for patients, considering their medical history, environmental factors, lifestyle and genetic makeup. Predictive models aid healthcare professionals in assessing disease risk, while ML models interpret medical scans (MRIs or X-rays) to diagnose conditions like cancerous lesions. All these functions benefit immensely from the support of a strong and fast fiber Internet to analyze this mass data. 

The Business Case for Fiber in Healthcare 

For healthcare administrators and CTOs, investing in business fiber can only be a strategic move. Fiber Internet offers scalability and future-proofing ability, which allows healthcare organizations to accommodate growing data demands and future technological innovations. Moreover, it provides dedicated bandwidth, ensuring consistent connectivity and prioritized data transmission for significant healthcare applications.

Healthcare administrators and CTOs must recognize the importance of investing in fiber infrastructure to ensure patient care. Their providers rely on health tech, which continues to demand more data and speed to serve their patients' needs adequately. To learn more about our business fiber connect with our team.