ECHAlliance Member Cisco on how we’ve entered an era where the lines between physical, digital, and even biological are blurring

The pace of change is accelerating exponentially. Especially in healthcare, it’s being driven by technologies that are transforming the experience for both patients and clinicians. Clinicians need to be connected and mobile to deliver better patient care at the bedside, which really means making critical data available and secure, at their fingertips. For patients, it’s becoming all about accessing care where they are, anywhere.

We’ve entered an era where the lines between physical, digital, and even biological are blurring. This era is characterized by the rise of robotics, artificial intelligence, biotechnology, the Internet of Things (IoT), and more. They aren’t the stuff of the far-distant future. These emerging technologies are already in the market and having an impact in healthcare.

While innovations in clinical applications are great, they may have a less-than-desired impact without the network connectivity that feeds them information and the people who use these applications to provide care. It’s time to take a step back from the possibilities of information technology integration and make sure your hospital’s entire information infrastructure can actually scale and meet your business objectives.

The recently launched the HIMSS Analytics Infrastructure Adoption Model (INFRAM) can help your healthcare organization measure the relative levels of adoption of technical infrastructure. By identifying specific benchmarks to reach before going live with more advanced business and clinical applications, such as Electronic Medical Record (EMR) systems, IoT, telemedicine, etc., the INFRAM ensures that a health system’s infrastructure is stable, manageable, and extensible.

The INFRAM provides an assessment of not just the current state of your transport, mobility, collaboration, security, and data center capabilities, but also a roadmap for the capabilities you plan to provide in the future to enhance patient care and the clinical experience. With this information, healthcare organizations can improve care delivery and create a pathway for infrastructure development tied to business and clinical outcomes

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