Becker's Hospital Review

174 Executive Briefing Sponsored by: The New Chapter in Wireless Patient Monitoring A s reforms to the healthcare system continue to place emphasis on value- based care and outcomes-based reimbursement, it is important for hospitals and health systems to take advantage of technologies that reduce risk and ensure optimal patient care. Wi-Fi-based patient monitoring is one area of medical technology that promises to help achieve these important goals. Organizations that are adopting this technology are advancing a new chapter in wireless patient monitoring that is expected to grow rapidly in the future. Medical technology company Nihon Kohden estimates that approximately 16 percent of U.S. hospitals and health systems had implemented WiFi-based wireless patient monitoring by the end of 2016. That number is expected to jump to 34 percent in the next two years with the help of new technologies like Nihon Kohden's HiQ wireless patient monitoring system, which is due to launch in October 2017. Here, the company's Chief Technology Officer Harsh Dharwad shares what hospital and health system leaders need to know to make their Wi-Fi-based patient monitoring deployments successful. Question: What are the biggest misconceptions or concerns among hospital and health system leaders about WiFi-based patient monitoring vs. traditional RF systems? Harsh Dharwad: I would say the biggest concern hospitals have in regards to Wi-Fi-based patient monitoring is around reliability or loss of data. They have experience with RF-based (radio frequency) technology and so they trust it, while Wi-Fi- based patient telemetry is still new to them. In addition, some hospitals probably believe that in order to use Wi-Fi patient monitoring, they have to pay a vendor to install a parallel Wi- Fi network. We designed our HiQ System to fully address all of these concerns. The technology is here today to make Wi- Fi-based patient monitoring a new standard in hospitals and health systems. Q: What are the advantages of Wi-Fi-based monitoring over traditional RF monitoring? HD: A major advantage of Wi-Fi-based monitoring over traditional RF monitoring is that it allows hospitals that have installed IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi) wireless networks to leverage their existing infrastructure and investment; they don't have to spend additional resources to install traditional RF antennas. Another great advantage is that it can be deployed without having to sacrifice bandwidth. Traditionally, Wi-Fi-based monitoring manufacturers have asked hospitals to create separate channels just for their systems, but our HiQ system can actually coexist with other devices on the hospital's network and share that bandwidth. Lastly, the technology utilizes the latest security practices, such as SSL and WPA security protocols. Q: What are the biggest challenges of migrating from traditional RF systems and how does Nihon Kohden help with those challenges? HD: Many hospital and health system leaders are familiar with WMTS-based wireless patient monitoring technology, since that is what has been available to them in the past. The first challenge is to make sure that they know that new Wi-Fi-based technology is available and it is viable for use today. When hospitals are ready to make the switch, Nihon Kohden consults with them every step of the way. We start by doing a thorough review of their wireless infrastructure, actually taking our system and running it on their backbone. We walk through the hospital to identify areas of poor coverage, and then fine- tune our system to make it optimal for their specific network. We also provide recommendations in regards to any network upgrades that may needed for successful deployment. Q: How would you describe Nihon Kohden's HiQ wireless patient monitoring system? HD: The HiQ system is a robust data acquisition and management platform designed for integrated delivery networks that want to leverage their 802.11 wireless networks. The system features a suite of fully functional central unit, bedside, transport and wearable patient monitors that meet patients where they are, anywhere Wi-Fi is enabled in the hospital setting. With HiQ, ambulatory care can be expanded to virtually every area of the hospital. When hospitals are ready to make the switch, Nihon Kohden consults with them every step of the way. We start by doing a thorough re- view of their wireless infrastructure … We walk through the hospital to identify areas of poor coverage, and then finetune our system to make it optimal for their specific network.

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