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Paying the Price for Going Wireless


By Bill Briggs, Senior Editor December 2005

Implementing wireless networks in hospitals and other health care facilities is a bit like getting cable television at home. Basic service has a manageable price tag, but with the addition of more functions, including pay-per-view events, high-speed Internet access and Voice over Internet Protocol telephone service, costs begin to climb.

"There is a great deal of interest among CIOs and chief technology officers in implementing wireless technology," says Craig Dahl, health care practice director, at Englewood, Colo.-based Interlink Group Inc., an I.T. consulting firm. "They are getting very creative about using the technology now and about what they will do with it. It's going be hot for the next three to five years for hospitals; it's just a matter of taking time with the design."

Wireless networks are sprouting up in physician practices, long-term care facilities and other locations, but hospitals have taken the lead with deployments.

The initial expense for basic wireless network hardware, including access points to transmit and receive radio wave signals, cabling and switches, and network management software, can total as little as $100,000 for a 300-bed hospital.

But creating access for multiple clinical applications, including order entry and electronic medical records, and administrative applications, such as medical device and inventory tracking, adds to the cost. And newer functions, including VoIP phone service and public network access, will take an increasing bite out of operating budgets.

When St Mary's/Duluth (Minn.) Health System leaders decided in 2003 to pursue a wireless network, their goal was to get the technology in place while minimizing costs to, and impact on, the organization, says Rick Schroeder, network analyst.

For St Mary's/Duluth, which comprises four hospitals and 20 clinics, costs were measured in various ways. "We looked at cost in dollars, management time, security vulnerabilities, and cost to users and patients," he explains.

One key goal-and cost factor-was to install cable only once to connect the medical facilities, and then building the network from there. "That way the infrastructure goes in once and you disturb the ceiling tiles only once," Schroeder adds. "That appealed to our management." Some hospitals, however, have found that adding wireless functions requires laying additional cable.

Another cost factor addressed security issues. Rather than position access points in public areas, network designers wanted to reduce vulnerability by locating them in data closets that already had restricted accessibility as well as electrical connections to power the units.

St. Mary's/Duluth's cost factors closely resemble those described by Dahl, the consultant. He parcels wireless networking costs into four categories: hardware; network design and coverage; security; and network management.

Most provider organizations Interlink works with are doing a good job managing the first two cost categories, he notes. And while most of those have adequate security or better, some haven't devoted enough resources to the task, he says.

Many organizations also haven't gotten their arms around wireless network management, Dahl adds.

Security focus

Security and network management are areas where provider organizations contemplating or recently moving into the wireless world should keep a sharp focus, he says.

"CIO and COOs are not living in fear of wireless network security, but they tend to be more concerned with external intrusion into hardwired networks," Dahl says.

In terms of network hardware, St Mary's/Duluth Health System deployed wireless technology from Cisco Systems Inc., San Jose, Calif. However, access point deployment presented several options, says Schroeder, the network analyst.

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