Connected Health, More Affordable Care, Remote Patient Monitoring, and Many More Use Cases for CBRS in the Medical Field

The healthcare industry is one that has historically always had to be at the forefront of technological advancements, and the recent trend of digital transformation is no exception. Hospitals and other medical institutions are rapidly adopting innovative devices and applications to boost efficiency and potentially save more lives. New technologies, such as the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT for patient monitoring and chronic care management) and the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) are becoming more promising than ever.

The use of technology in healthcare is growing quite swiftly, with the global digital health market reaching USD 201.24 billion in 2021, and is expected to reach USD 252.47 billion by the end of 2022, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 25.5 percent. However, possibly holding back the widespread adoption of technology by the industry as a whole is the need for more expansive Wi-Fi, as the number of devices connected to their wireless networks continues to grow.

Fortunately, private wireless networks can offer a cost-effective solution to offload devices from healthcare organizations’ Wi-Fi networks. Even better is that private wireless LTE networks are now readily available for enterprises to adopt and leverage themselves, truly giving hospitals a current solution to their mobility and connectivity issues.  The healthcare industry can now leverage the accessible Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) spectrum.

What is CBRS

CBRS refers to 150 MHz of spectrum in the 3550 MHz to 3700 MHz range, 3.5 GHz to 3.7 GHz. The United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC) had initially designated for sharing among three tiers of users: incumbent users, priority access license (PAL) users, and general authorized access (GAA) users. However, roughly two years ago in April of 2020, the US Federal Communication Commission began auctioning off the CBRS.

The decision to auction off the CBRS meant that for the first time, the availability of low-cost, shared wireless spectrum using the CBRS in the 3.5-3.7 GHz band now allowed enterprises to own and operate private LTE and 5G networks. CBRS has quickly become sought-after by organizations of all shapes and sizes, as it helps overcome the limitations of WiFi, which is why the technology currently makes for such a perfect pair with the healthcare industry.

Benefits for Hospitals

CBRS private networks offer healthcare enterprises a variety of practical use cases that can not only be used every day but legitimately help save lives while being leveraged. For example, CBRS networks will help the healthcare sector eliminate many of the challenges associated with telemedicine. Hurdles such as accessing and processing electronic medical record data, low-quality video and audio conferencing, and remotely monitoring medical device data can all be addressed by the faster, real-time networks provided by a private CBRS.

Furthermore, with CBRS hospitals can decide what is critical communication with a private CBRS network. Right now, many hospitals rely on Wi-Fi and public cellular for internal communication, but patients and guests rely on these same networks for communication that is much less critical. This means hospitals must make sure only the most critical messages and applications are being emphasized, but most Wi-Fi networks do not currently can differentiate or prioritize traffic.

Finally, a CBRS network could help hospitals and other healthcare organizations greatly enhance their outdoor connectivity. Hospitals can use CBRS to connect outdoor Wi-Fi hotspots to their indoor networks, enabling nurses to test and triage patients outside the hospitals. By connecting to the indoor network, hospitals can onboard new patients efficiently, and nurses could use some of the same equipment they would have used indoors. 

Pente’s Part

At Pente, we understand that premier mobility and connectivity are a necessity for the healthcare industry, as every second matters when tending to the sick and injured. Hospitals are unique in their need to support in regular times a combination of visitors, patients, personnel, a wide range of sensors, machinery data, and asset tracking capabilities. The combination of requirements from MRI handoff to making a video call into ER is complicated and challenging. In crisis mode, the burden over the hospital connectivity capabilities was beyond the current infrastructure’s capabilities.

The Pente private network can be used by hospitals to provide highly reliable, secured low latency, high bandwidth dedicated separated networks – resilient, secure, and able to operate even in crisis mode where all other networks are either being overloaded or decommissioned.  With advanced routing and resiliency built into Pente’s platform, availability and consistency reach new heights. By working with Hyperscalers, service providers, system integrators, solution developers, OEMs, and others in our partner ecosystem, Pente dramatically improves in-door and outdoor connectivity availability & quality, through an OPEX model that reduces expenses by avoiding cabling infrastructure.

The healthcare industry is always going to have to be up to date with the latest technological advancements, for the health and safety of its community. The availability of the CBRS spectrum gives hospitals a chance to truly leverage the variety of devices and applications to their highest potential.

With Pente’s help, CBRS can be used to drive multiple use cases that require guaranteed connectivity latency and speed, providing healthcare professionals with the fastest speeds possible, for the health and safety of both themselves and their patients.