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Wireless Technologies in Healthcare

Wireless Technologies in Healthcare

Wireless Healthcare in Homes and Hospitals

The focus of this eMessenger is wireless technologies in healthcare. Our first contributor is Daniel Dearing, Managing Director of Accelerate Consulting Ltd., a UK based company specialising in wired and wireless communications technology. He suggests that wireless enabled monitoring systems could enhance the home care of elderly and chronically ill patients, and increase the productivity and efficiency of staff in hospitals.

Wireless technology has vast potential in the healthcare industry in many different applications. One prime example is patient monitoring. Whether it is bedside monitoring, ambulatory monitoring or remote monitoring of patients in their own homes, wireless technology can increase patient mobility and, in some cases, even improve the accuracy and reliability of monitored information.

“Communications is an area where wireless technology could also be strongly beneficial,” says Dearing. “Mobile voice communications and wireless enabled handheld data terminals that can link bedside monitors, expert knowledge systems and the hospital’s Patient Administration System could significantly improve staff productivity and patient care outcomes.”

Asset tracking (and even patient tracking) is another area where wireless and RFID will play an increasingly important role in saving time and improving patient outcomes by helping to track down missing equipment.

Wireless adoption is growing

Dearing is heartened by how the UK government is encouraging the adoption of electronics and technology in the healthcare sector. “This has included an £80 million ‘Preventative Care’ grant in the last few years to help local authorities roll out pilot telehealth schemes in their regions.”

Various trade missions have also been conducted to investigate best practice in other countries. “More recently,” he adds, “the Technology Strategy Board has announced the creation of a new Innovation Platform in the area of ‘Assisted Living’ in order to encourage technological innovation in this area. There are also various strands of EU Framework 7 calls that focus on healthcare technology.”

Three technology categories

For the purposes of healthcare applications, Dearing broadly divides wireless technologies into three categories; Body Area, Local Area and Wide Area wireless.

“Body Area wireless technologies, used for implantable and wearable devices, may include standards-based protocols like the Medical Implant Communication Service (MICS), Bluetooth, Zigbee, and a host of ultra-low-power proprietary protocols,” he explains.

Local Area connections, used for communication between wireless terminals, ambulatory and bedside monitoring instruments and hospital networks, will typically include WiFi, Bluetooth, and WMTS (Wireless Medical Telemetry Service).

Wide Area wireless healthcare applications such as telecare, remote monitoring, remote data access, appointment reminders etc., are typically dominated by standards-based cellular protocols such as GSM and UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System). A growing number of applications are being enabled.

Convenience and flexibility

As technology advances and business models in European healthcare sectors adapt to allow the adoption of new technology, the convenience and flexibility of wireless enabled devices will play a growing role in the ability of health authorities to care for an increasingly ageing population.

Furthermore, according to Dearing: “The adoption of wireless enabled telecare technology may also bring with it a new class of ‘Telecarers’, equipped with wireless connectivity that provides them with immediate access to patient case history, point of care diagnostics and expert advice, and ultimately resulting in better patient care.”

The rise of ‘medically enabled’ cellular terminals is also likely to fuel the increase in “consumerist” behaviour. “We may see the creation of a whole new market for home monitoring and diagnostics devices with which the ‘worried well’ can more effectively manage their own health,” concludes Dearing.

Daniel Dearing has a strong background in technical development, management and consulting. In addition to building and managing development teams in large corporate environments, he has helped start-up companies overcome the issues that they face. His technical domain expertise extends to many aspects of broadband communications networks, ATM, SDH, and IP networks, Fixed Wireless Access and Wireless LAN, Bluetooth and cellular protocols (GSM and UMTS). He is also SIG Champion of the Cambridge Wireless Healthcare Special Interest Group.

Further information:
Accelerate Consulting
Cambridge Wireless Healthcare SIG

A Wireless Hospital Comes Closer to Reality

Our second contributor is Veli Juola, CEO of WHealth Oy, Kempele, Finland, a company specialised in designing wireless systems for the healthcare sector. WHealth is the industrial operator of applications and operating models created by the innovative research programme WILHO.

 

WILHO (Wireless Hospital) is an ongoing research programme in the Oulu region of Finland that is focusing on wireless solutions in the healthcare sector. The participants are Oulu University Hospital, ODL Health Oy (a private hospital), the University of Oulu and WHealth Oy. WILHO, which started in 2004, is funded by its participants and the FinnWell programme of the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation (Tekes).

“The key objective of the WILHO programme is to study how wireless technology could be utilised to enhance the work processes in the healthcare sector,” explains Veli Juola. “The first step was a pilot positioning project carried out in 2005 and 2006 in the Oulu University Hospital. This year it has been extended to Automated Patient Data Recording, which is currently being tested.”

A single method to easily record patient data

The WALAS Automated Patient Data Recording system developed by WHealth is expected to be the backbone of the wireless hospital system. It enables nursing staff to record, save, and browse the results of patient measurements. Measurement data are transferred into the information system via a wireless network, either automatically or with one entry. The information is immediately available to all system users.

WALAS utilises the hospital’s existing technology by making use of its WLAN networks. In addition to patient monitors, the WALAS system’s components include a WALAS server that controls the system and archives data; a WLAN transmitter/receiver connected to the patient monitor; standard WLAN base stations; and a nurse’s terminal consisting of a PDA or laptop computer equipped with a RFID reader. RFID sensors are used to identify patient and measurement data. The system also supports the use of bar codes.

Juola says the WALAS system allows nurses to use their time more efficiently, since they no longer need to first record information on paper and then enter it into an electronic system.

”Time is freed for actual nursing work. Because less time is spent doing routine tasks, the quality of nursing goes up and nurses’ work becomes more meaningful. Furthermore, as the number of recordings decreases, so too does the error rate.”

The integration challenge

Many challenges still need to be overcome. “For example, the location accuracy depends very closely on the wireless network – and in particular its density and signal strength. Room level location accuracy is particularly challenging to achieve if no additional room-level identification equipment is used.”

A further challenge is integration with the primary hospital information system. It is important to solve this issue to ensure that the full benefit of the application is achieved.

As to the future plans, the WALAS system is planned to be ready for “production” use in 2008 with the first application of automated data recording and a patient identification system. Further developments are in progress to develop new location-based applications on top of the WALAS platform.

”Wireless technology provides unique and novel ways to optimise and enhance hospital processes,” summarises Juola. ”Our vision is that wireless technology will become a permanent part of the data networks, data systems and logistics of hospitals. We believe it will significantly improve the quality of diagnostics as well as personal data and process information.”

More information:
WHealth
WILHO

Veli Juola has a masters in telecommunications from Oulu University. He worked for Nokia Networks for over 20 years in various management positions in base station development and product programme management in Finland and USA. He joined WHealth Oy in spring 2007 as CEO and partner.

Wireless technology: Just what the doctor ordered?

Wireless technologies in healthcare are becoming increasingly implemented as they offer a range of benefits:

Improved quality of data measurement
Information is recorded only once and is available immediately in real time.

Immediate access to information
Information on a patient is immediately accessible at the bedside point of care. This includes patient records, prescription databases and dosage recommendations.

Time saving
Caregivers can use a hand-held PDA to perform many tasks that would previously have involved writing down data in a file, and then keying it into a computer system later. This can save as much as three minutes per patient, per visit, for one nurse alone.

Enhanced patient care
The saved time translates into a major improvement in work efficiency, and also allows more personal care to be administered.

Increased safety
Reduced medical errors and improved safety of people, equipment and information.

Greater mobility
Healthcare staff can move freely around but still be connected to data and communications services.

Enhanced collaboration
Medical staff can share information with colleagues without having to sit at their workstations.

Easy to use
Handheld devices and applications are simple to use and require little if any training.

A sideways look at wireless technologies in healthcare is given by David Cudby of Networks for Independent Living in this month‘s Expert View. His vision is a future where wireless technology helps aging and ill people to live comfortably – and independently – in their homes.

“What are the next steps towards implementation of a wireless system?”

Although the implementation of wireless computing can potentially provide enticing dividends, its full value cannot be recognised without proper planning and extensive forethought on the wireless enterprise design. Strategic next steps are:

• Understand clearly the organisation’s business objectives and business processes. Healthcare organisations should consider wireless applications in the context of a larger business process re-engineering and enterprise-wide IT effort.
• Establish an enterprise wireless working group to develop a long range strategy and plan.
• Conduct an enterprise technology assessment. Complete a thorough technical analysis on which to base the decision to install wireless solutions. Avoid choosing a technology that fails to meet your organisation’s business and clinical needs.
• Identify the type of data to be transmitted. Determine whether it is text-intensive and/or graphics-intensive. Determine the physical parameters of the proposed installations, because wireless networks are limited in range. Note the span and throughput of wireless networks offered by competing manufacturers.
• Conduct detailed on-site analyses of critical physical and clinical problems at healthcare facilities to determine if wireless computing offers the right answers.
• Ensure that the design of the selected wireless infrastructure products and components comply with your Enterprise IT Architecture and Standards.
• Choose the right vendor. In addition to their product line, the chosen wireless product vendors need to be able to provide training and support to the organisation over time.
• Secure data everywhere. Wrap security around the information, internally and externally, regardless of when, where, or how it is created, stored, processed, or transmitted. Be mindful of ever-occurring security threats and create centralised policies.
• Consider acquiring and deploying an enterprise-wide "mobile infrastructure" solution. Deploying one integrated mobile computing suite across the enterprise will provide a range of benefits, e.g. one vendor, one contract, less training, simplified architecture, and lower support costs.
• To achieve the most positive impact for your business, determine how to quickly and cost-effectively integrate wireless technology into your current environment.

Reprinted from “Wireless Strategies for Healthcare Provider Organizations” by Peter Groen and Marc Wine. (see link under “Health ICT on the Web” to download the full document)

Cordula Singer
HIMSS EMEA secretariat

Questions anyone?
Challenge us to help you with your (healthcare ICT related) questions. Send your input to emea@himss.org (subject line: question time) and we will research and publish your questions and our answers in forthcoming issues of the eMessenger.

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