Healthcare

Network Access’ strategic approach paved the way for this West Virginia hospital to improve its level of patient care and prepare for the deployment of new healthcare technologies.

This modern hospital, the town’s 201-bed facility, has become a leader in community healthcare. Consistently meeting the total healthcare needs of the entire area, this progressive hospital has achieved several “firsts” in offering an array of programs to the region. Their dedication to progress and quality healthcare is what led its management to pursue Network Access to help develop their ambitious plan for the future.

“The Strategic Technology Assessment performed by the Network Access team gave us a clear understanding and direction as to how to rebuild our network.”

Challenge

The healthcare industry is undergoing dramatic changes. Newer healthcare technologies, improved business processes, and a national goal of implementing healthcare IT and electronic patient records are the driving forces behind this major shift.

This hospital not only wanted to keep up to date with changes in healthcare technology, they wanted to be ahead of the curve with a future-proof infrastructure that prepares them for the latest advancements in healthcare technology.

But to prepare for the future, this hospital needed to address their existing infrastructure, which was rapidly becoming outdated. Performance issues had begun to affect users, who would sometimes get kicked out of the Meditech system, and the IT department would often have to reset the connection. In order to support modern applications such as electronic medical record systems and pharmacy automation, their technology system needed a major renovation.

Part of their future view involved interactivity and mobility. It’s still surprisingly common for doctors and other caregivers to walk around with paper charts, which must be updated and re-entered later into the computer— a process that is both labor-intensive and prone to error. The new paradigm in healthcare is to use wireless notebooks that allow the provider to enter and retrieve information at the point of care.

Solution

Underlying issues were uncovered, and the hospital received a technology and investment plan for the future by first doing a Strategic Technology Assessment. Employing their own Service Delivery Process Model (SDPM), Network Access had a system in place for tackling this complex client engagement. “The first step in SDPM is to identify goals and IT imperatives,” Network Access’ Service Delivery Manager explained. “In this initial phase, we sit down with the IT staff, understand their strategic goals, and find out what they would like to do with technology in their organization.”

The second phase of SDPM is a formal assessment, which involves a technical network scan that helps Network Access identify problems and ensures that the client is using their equipment efficiently and productively. This assessment illustrates precisely how to achieve the client-identified imperatives. “After the assessment is delivered, the transformation phase begins. This is where the actual work is done. The system is redesigned, and equipment is purchased and installed,” stated the Service Delivery Manager at Network Access.

“Our solution involved solving existing problems and getting their network ready for the future,” said Network Access’ Account Manager. “We found that the performance issues were the result of the older infrastructure and that a network upgrade and wireless technology would solve those problems and be instrumental in achieving the hospital’s future goals.” Once the assessment was drafted and a strategy outlined, the hospital immediately moved forward with the implementation, with Network Access managing the entire solution.

Technology Overview

Solving existing performance problems and gearing up the network for future technology required a faster network with reliable gear. Network Access identified several imperatives, including:

• Moving from an older 10/100 network to a gigabit-capable network in order to improve response and to handle bandwidth-intensive applications.
• Addressing disaster recovery concerns with a redundant network infrastructure.
• Preparing for HIPAA compliance and allowing for reporting on all activities and intrusions with new, more robust security initiatives.
• Facilitating data entry and information retrieval at point of care with a new wireless network at the hospital and all remote locations.

The implementation, though very thorough, was completed over a single weekend and was conducted with very little impact to the user community and with minimal downtime. After the implementation, Network Access continued to go to work for the hospital. With the Uptime Advantage Co-Managed Services solution, Network Access monitors all equipment at all locations 24×7×365. So, any time there is an error report, an outage, or any problem, they are able to remedy the problem immediately and maintain business continuity.

Results

From the very beginning, Network Access initiated a strategic approach, analyzing the technology and recommending upgrades that would meet the initial imperatives, solve problems, and pave the road to the future. The new security system ensures network stability while the wireless capabilities enable a much greater level of efficiency and allow the caregivers to instantly update records. After implementing the recommended technology, performance issues dissipated, and productivity soared. “We are confident that this project will ensure that we continue to provide quality healthcare services to the communities we serve,” attests the Hospital.