Chicomm Blog

The health care industry has some of the most complex communications needs imaginable: in addition to the safety, security and privacy of patients and staff, the industry has mountains of patient data to handle and technology trends to track. 

There is no shortage of innovation in health care when it comes to communications, and things are getting more high-tech all the time for patients, health care professionals and staff.

Here’s a look at 6 things the health care industry is doing to improve communications.

As your boss keeps reminding you, it’s your job to make sure wireless communication at your company, campus or property is something that no one is talking about because all is well: You’re effectively using communications to enhance safety and security, you don’t need to improve wireless communications with a stronger network and dead zones are a dead issue.

But if your communications are still a topic of conversation, there are solutions available.

Here are four things your boss wishes you knew:

The hospitality industry may have been slow to pick up on some technology trends – looking at you, super-slow hotel WiFi – but it’s been making up for lost time by leading key tech trends instead of following them.

Hotel and resort chains are competing like never before on technology that elevates guest experiences, and some options are truly over the top – the rooftop that is. From robot butlers to, yes, a rooftop rainforest, let’s look at some ways the hospitality industry is stepping up its tech.

If you're purchasing a new facility and about to do a building condition assessment, you're probably expecting that assessment to cover the facility’s structural and maintenance bases, but what about communications readiness? To make sure your assessment is painting as comprehensive a picture as possible, and to position you to meet your needs now and into the future, there are some key communications considerations to keep in mind.

Your users will be expecting instant and reliable connectivity from day one, whether they’re relying on wireless communications, cell phones or two-way radios. As you’re considering a property for your business, you’ll need a realistic assessment of whether it’ll support your communications needs or will require some help in the form of bi-directional amplifiers or other enhancements.

Here are some questions to keep in mind as you’re carrying out your assessment:

"I do not think that the wireless waves I have discovered will have any practical application." —German physicist Heinrich Rudolf Hertz, the first person to broadcast and receive radio waves.

It’s fair to say that Heinrich Rudolf Hertz didn’t quite know what he had on his hands when he discovered the radio wave in 1886, but in his defense, the rest of the world didn’t either. While Hertz’s experiments paved the way for technology including the radio, television and mobile phones, it would be years before scientists fully understood the implications of what he’d uncovered.

Let’s take a quick look at how wireless communications have evolved from Hertz’s “impractical” radio waves to some of the indispensable technology we use today.

Digital communication decisions often seem complicated. Technology is always changing, from hardware improvements to software updates to larger system overhauls. These changes often lead to misconceptions about digital communications technology - which can get in the way of your business or agency making the right decision about acquiring new technology or updating what you’ve got.

Being aware of these misconceptions can simplify your digital communications decisions and help you break down barriers to getting the technology your business or agency needs.

Here are 5 common misconceptions about digital communications technology:

Schools are changing. No, not just the curriculums they offer or the lessons they teach (though those are quite different today than they were even just ten years ago), but the ways in which they use technology to keep students safe, informed, and connected.

Today, many schools have adopted location services, a technology that operates off of a GPS-style system. Location services can be used for just about anything, from sending emergency updates and obtaining student locations to offering interactive campus tours and even notes and content. The benefits are clear, and with today’s students being supremely comfortable with all things technological, the rollout is widely appreciated and is something that students, staff, and parents can get excited about.

Here are five ways your school can use location services:

When you identify the biggest challenges your organization faces, one of the most common solutions to those issues it better communication. When you are effectively communicating with your staff, you minimize risks for downtime, safety issues, or even customer satisfaction.

What commonly happens in this scenario is that a business identifies this challenge and knows that better communication will help, but is unsure of the next steps to take, in terms of actual technologies and solutions. There are a lot of options to consider, and not every solution is right for every business or industry. Here are three communication solutions that can help out just about any company:

When public safety agencies respond to an emergency, they are able to arrive at the scene of the event and deal with the emergency in mere moments. They are able to effectively communicate with their own team, different departments, the media, and even the general public, all without causing any delays or issues. When you stop to think about it, it seems like an incredibly daunting task to accomplish all of that in such a short period of time.

For them, it all starts with having an effective, comprehensive emergency communications strategy in place. This strategy typically includes everything from the types of equipment they will use in the dispatch center and in the field, the 10-codes they will rely on, and general best practices and procedures that they will follow.

Creating and using these communication strategies is just part of the job for those in public safety, but it isn’t always as top-of-mind for those working in other industries. For example, if you own a hotel or are part of the IT admin team at a school, or if you lead the night crew at a warehouse, chances are you aren’t always thinking of how you will communicate during an emergency.

Today, it doesn’t matter if you have a private WiFi network for your business, or, if you host a public network on a school campus or in a shopping center - your network needs to be secure. Hackers are always on the lookout for subpar security in order to quickly get in and get out with the information they came for.

So how can you best keep your network safe and secure? First, we always recommend partnering with an expert solutions provider - this ensures optimal security throughout all of your communications.

Second, it is a great idea for you to become familiar with the most popular wireless networking security terminology so that if an issue comes up, you are well-versed enough to discuss or understand the problem. Here are 10 of the most common wireless networking terms: