Multitudes of apps are in use that deliver health status updates,
identify specific illnesses, and put any conceivable information
54 I ICT TODAY
at the fingertips of patients and providers.
Cureatr, offer secure texting and messaging platforms
that reside as mobile apps, as well as providing other
patient care functions.
A Wi-Fi network can certainly be utilized to enable
Wi-Fi calling. The major advantages are that coverage
can be improved in areas where cellular is lacking, and
deployment costs can be relatively low. The disadvantages
are that there is no effective hand-off for the user when
transitioning from a cellular connection to Wi-Fi (calls
will drop) and the system is not user friendly in that user
phones must be individually programmed to connect to
the Wi-Fi. Most importantly, Wi-Fi networks supporting
Wi-Fi calling must be engineered to support both the
amount of data traffic and prioritization required.
The power of the human voice continues to evolve
in the medical arena. Amazon recently announced software
for its voice assistant Alexa that enables medical
firms to transmit patient data in a HIPPA-compliant
manner. There are a variety of burgeoning apps being
developed in conjunction with this platform, and all
of these powered devices require some kind of wireless
connectivity, be it Bluetooth, Wi-Fi or cellular. Here is
what one prominent organization had to say about
the potential:
“Boston Children’s Hospital…began this journey with one
of the first Amazon Alexa skills from a hospital four
years ago and are thrilled to participate in the initial
launch of Amazon Alexa’s HIPAA-eligible service for
developers. The My Children’s Enhanced Recovery After
Surgery (ERAS) skill, launching today, allows patients
and caregivers to easily share recovery progress with
their care team post- surgery. We believe it is just one
example of how voice technology can extend the care
and support of our patients beyond the four walls
of the hospital.”
— John Brownstein, chief innovation officer,
Boston Children’s Hospital.
that offers greatly enhanced voice quality for the user.
Voice over long-term evolution is based on the IP multimedia
subsystem (IMS) network. This means that voice
traffic on a cell phone will no longer reside on legacy
3G UMTS or 2G GSM networks; instead, voice is packetized
and delivered like and along with other data
on the LTE network.
Not long ago, depending on a person’s carrier, one
could not use both data and talk on a device at the same
time. For example, AT&T and T-Mobile, which both relied
on a combination of LTE for data and older HSPA+ for
phone calls, would drop down to 3G when a call was
being placed. VoLTE solves this problem.
With VoLTE, imagine concert-hall-like acoustics when
a VoLTE conversation takes place; crystal-clear conversations
as if the people on the conversation were sitting
right next to each other. Carriers like VoLTE because it
allows them to operate their networks much more efficiently,
and it offers consumers a much better experience
because of sound quality. Additionally, VoLTE will also
allow wireless service providers the ability to offer rich
communications services (RCS). This class includes video
voicemail, video calling, file transferring, and real-time
language translation.
For effective voice to voice communication, there
must be cellular connectivity in most cases; this can be
achieved in a variety of ways. First, it could just work.
The macro or outside network might serve the building
adequately. Not every workplace needs improved coverage.
However, for those that do, they could be served
by small cells (i.e., network extender) or a distributed
antenna system (DAS).
Many in the workplace view texting (SMS) as an
essential communication method, and those in health
care are no different. However, their texting must be
secure to comply with the Health Information Portability
and Protection Act (HIPPA) requirements for patient
confidentiality. Vendors, such as Voalte, pingmd, and