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The Purposes of the Network
There are several purposes of this tertiary care teaching hospital network. First and foremost, a user can obtain information concerning every patient. Both the current health situation and the previous diseases, injuries, and courses of treatment are available. The second purpose is to help specialists put in correspondence their actions: for example, testing data are received by a physician who makes a decision. Then, professionals have a chance to be informed about some practical arrangements, such as board meetings. Further, the members have access to official documents, reports, money matters, and personal records that may be necessary to solve logistical and other issues. Last but not least purpose is to identify mistakes as soon as possible and take corresponding measures. If several persons pay attention to data, it is much easier to find an error.
Architecture
The components of the hospitals wireless local area network (WLAN) architecture correspond to what is described in the present-day academic literature (Pathan, Monowar, & Fadlullah, 2013).
As for the architecture, its components are relevant to the following model. To begin with, the access point utilized to translate the data between wired and wireless device networking devices is connected by means of Ethernet. The function is to deliver different types of data between the WLAN and, on the other hand, the wired network that is provided by the cables inside the walls of the hospital building. There are twenty access points, and they manage to perform its functions within the hospital. Further, in this particular case, the term clients implies various types of devices used by the staff. They are linked with the wireless network area. In the majority of cases, tablets are used: health care specialists connect to the Wi-Fi network and gain the opportunity to work. However, PDAs (personal digital assistants) and laptops are also used. The third component is the bridge that serves as the connection point between the wired Ethernet and the WLAN.
The Network Shape
One can see that the network includes the authentication server, a kind of network servers that identifies and certifies nodes connecting with applications and services. As a result, only authenticated nodes may have access to the resources. There is also the wireless network analyzer that is necessary for determining APs and Wi-Fi channels, analyzing, and solving a wide range of problems on 802.11a/b/g/n/ac wireless networks (Haux, Winter, Ammenwerth, & Brigl, 2013). Later on, Wavelinks mobile manager helps maintain the WLAN and provide the security configurations. It is possible to evaluate the current conditions of the network (capacity, signal performance, the devices that are used most and least frequently) and take corresponding measures to improve the situation. Finally, the hospitals staff can connect to the hospitals Wi-Fi and use their devices (laptops, PDAs, etc.).
The Scope
More than 500 physicians (Long Island Jewish Medical Center, n.d.).
As for the scope, the described network covers the building of the Long Island Jewish Hospital which is a part of the Long Island Jewish Medical Center. It provides a wide range of services, and, in this context, the hospitals network plays a vital role.
The network users
Taking into account the activities of the chosen hospital (the combination of the tertiary care and teaching), one can see that there are many categories of users of this network. Doctors and nurses use it in order to monitor every patients health, register changes in their condition, and make decisions in accordance with the received data. Administrators deal with the organization of the care and use the network to collect and manage the data, for instance, demographic information or health recommendations and risks. Researchers also have the opportunity to make use of the network because the hospital supports studies connected with the direct patients and the hospitals internal data.
The usage of the network is an integral part of the educators and students collaboration: they may collect the necessary data quickly and easily. Consequently, learners gain the valuable knowledge, receive practice-oriented training, and develop skills that will be vital to their future career.
The Peculiarities of WLANs Described in the Modern Academic Literature
Tendencies
The analysis of the large body of literature existing nowadays demonstrates that the authors concentrate on different aspects of wireless LANs. Some authors view both negative issues, such as relatively low level of security, and positive features, such as usability (Pathan et al., 2013). Other researchers and case studies investigators tend to recommend WLAN implementation and describe the advantages, some of which will be discussed further (CISCO, n.d.). Ngan, Wong, Ng, Jeor, and Lo (2015) share the results of their study conducted at the Hong Kong Sanatorium & Hospital and state that the recently implemented WLAN technologies have significantly improved the work of the portable radiography by reduction of procedural steps and the easy usage of the system. Overall, it may be said that the modern academic literature recognizes the usage of WLANs as a possible solution that can be adopted in hospitals.
The advantages of the network. The opportunity to add and move the hospitals workstations and address the possible space rearrangements within a short period without much effort is present. The nature of the WLAN gives a chance to organize the space of the hospital in an effective way. It is probable to move APs if necessary or add additional ones. As a result, the needs of the health care specialists are met: in case the current system cannot cope with the existing amount of work, one should only enlarge the number of access points, and the problem is solved.
The advantages of the network
Cost-effectiveness is notable: in comparison with the expenditures associated with the wired LAN hardware, WLAN proves to be more advantageous in terms of the installation costs (McKinsey Center for U.S. Health System Reform, 2013).
Apart from the possibility of system reconstruction, cost-effectiveness is also important. The benefits connected with the wireless technologies are tangible. The present-day case studies and academic literature refer to the reduction of spending after the wireless LANs are introduced. The case of CISCO illustrates this statement: according to the costs analysis, the implementation of the wireless LAN led to the service availability increase and reduction of the total costs of ownership with the help of a lower need for operational support (CISCO, n.d.).
The disadvantages of the network
If the number of devices connected to the network is too large, the data transmission to each user is to be reduced.
One of the most considerable disadvantages is that an access point cannot provide the high level of the data transfer as long as there are too many devices connected to it. In other words, the opportunities of a single wireless AP are limited: it can handle a certain number of computers and other devices, and the overwork leads to the connection deterioration.
The disadvantages of the network
The distance may become a significant problem: access points can function within a certain area, and a user does not always have the opportunity to shorten the distance between themselves and the AP.
The second disadvantage is that the device can be used only in a limited distance from the access point: it means that the distance is determined by the existing standard and buildings and other obstacles between the access point and the user (Pathan et al., 2013).
The security issue
WLAN technologies safety: Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) as one of the possible solutions.
Some authors question the WLAN security and consider this type of network to be unsafe (Haux et al., 2013). However, it is possible to argue: as it has been demonstrated, the system under discussion is protected via the Wavelinks mobile manager that helps maintain the WLAN and provide the security configurations including SSID, WEP, EAP, LEAP, WPA and 802.1x parameters (McKinsey Center for U.S. Health System Reform, 2013). This type of parameters suits to the present network. Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) proves to be one of the popular and effective decisions employed in WLAN security (Pathan et al., 2013).
The Hospital Staffs Attitude Towards the Usage of the Network
The opinions differ:
- Younger and middle-aged staff: almost no problems related to the WLAN usage;
- Mature staff: some difficulties connected with certain details.
Another issue pertains to peoples attitudes. In relation to the hospital network utilization, the health care professionals hold different opinions. On the one hand, the younger and middle-aged personnel can perform their duties using the opportunities provided by the network, and, as they say, the glitches or misunderstanding issues are rare. They believe the services are helpful and admit that it is difficult to imagine their daily routine work without these services.
On the other hand, the mature staff sometimes tends to misinterpret the principles of the network usage. Consequently, the network application might become challenging for them. Some of them admit they would like to receive some training in order to understand the details better. However, it is not always valid: there are also younger specialists, especially nurses, who also state they want to know more about the system and its usage.
Overall, having analyzed the peculiarities of the WLAN technologies, one can state that the Long Island Jewish Hospital has a system characterized by strengths and weaknesses. It is probable to identify two areas of concern: the security issues and the specialists skills. The current situation demonstrates that the task of primary importance is to address these challenges: the system safety should be improved, and those health care workers who need training should be given the opportunity to acquire the necessary skills. If these goals are achieved, the quality of services will be improved, and the level of patient satisfaction is likely to rise.
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