What is the future of Wi-Fi connections in hospitals?

Lately, the question of internet connections in hospitals has become an increasingly discussed topic. A sufficiently high-quality and fast connection is important in healthcare facilities for both staff and patients, for whom online communication is often the only way to stay in touch with their loved ones. A hospital network can also be used to store and share data, or for staff to communicate with each other via VoIP calls.

Unstable connections

Many hospitals offer Wi-Fi for patients, but patients often complain about slow or unstable connections. The problem also often arises when doctors need to communicate with each other – for example, when sending test results or X-ray images between departments across the country. As in many other cases, the root of unstable connections in hospitals is often a lack of funding. Providing a hospital with a sufficiently high-quality Wi-Fi signal is a challenge that comes with very different rules from setting up Wi-Fi in homes or smaller businesses. In some cases, municipalities can apply to the WiFI4EU initiative for a grant to set up free Wi-Fi connection, which can, among other things, cover hospitals and other healthcare facilities. The region can connect all healthcare facilities with a secure, high-speed electronic communications network. Non-regional healthcare facilities will also be able to connect to the network, which will allow all medical staff with the appropriate authorisation to view and work with medical records. This access could be granted to any doctor whom the patient authorises. 

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Setting up Wi-Fi in a hospital is not the only task, however – it is also important to keep the whole infrastructure running and to deal with any outages and other problems promptly and efficiently. Another aspect of setting up and operating a Wi-Fi network is security – this is a critical point that, in many cases, is not handled sufficiently well, as shown by the frequent hacking attacks on hospital systems. Security is, besides a question of expertise, also a matter of funding – ordinary devices are not capable of providing the segmentation and separation of networks needed to protect sensitive data adequately. In the private sector, conditions are of course very different from those in state hospitals. To set up and run a connection properly, it is first necessary to survey the whole building thoroughly and, with the help of experts, determine where each type of connection is needed (in some places wireless is more suitable, elsewhere cabled), where each device should be located, and which areas should have priority in the connection. 

IPS systems

Data traffic in hospitals is usually directed through a proxy and an IPS system (Intrusion Protection System), with users divided into groups according to their access rights – patients who need to check their e-mails within the hospital grounds have different permissions from doctors. Hospital management and IT staff often have a different level of access as well. The patients' network should always be strictly separated from the hospital network – this separation can be thought of as a more sophisticated version of a home or office Wi-Fi, which includes a separate Wi-Fi network for guests. Thorough encryption and regular penetration tests, together with security audits, should be a given. 

The level of quality and security of internet connections in hospitals is increasing all the time. Given the current situation, it can be expected that the individual bodies will make even more intensive efforts in this direction, as far as they are able. 

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Update 20 March 2024