How Inappropriate Cabling Prevents Hospitals from Becoming "Smart" and Future Communication System Management Concerns

Author(s): Eisuke Hanada, Takato Kudou

Most hospitals have introduced Information and Communication Technology (ICT), and the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in the increased use of wireless communication to achieve a more “contactless” medical environment. The most common applications of wireless communication systems in hospitals include patient data collection and sharing, voice communication, and authentication. Transmission of physician's instructions that are input to the hospital information system can now be done through wireless LAN functions in medical settings. Such systems can be expected to greatly expand in the future. However, problems with the reliability of data transmission in wireless communication systems have arisen. In a survey by the Japanese government, nearly half of the hospitals answered that they had experienced problems with wireless communication. Here, we describe architectural problems that may become obstacles to the future expansion of wireless communication, then propose countermeasures.