Wifi Revolution

In its new report – titled “Is E-healthcare Secure in the Hands of Cellular Technology?” – market research firm Frost & Sullivan focuses on the role of modern communication technologies in the field of healthcare, saying that while mobile technology is of immense value to healthcare professionals, the security threats in these technologies is a matter of concern.

 

WiFi (News - Alert) and wireless technologies are among the widely deployed technologies in the healthcare sector. But these technologies still have certain limitations such as the range covered and the clarity of messages communicated. Also, these technologies are prone to hacking as the security is still in its infancy.

 

There are many technologies used for the transmission of information in healthcare. They include the Public Switched Telephony Network, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), cellular, WiFi and Bluetooth. Frost & Sullivan (News - Alert) states that most of the companies choose technologies for different applications based on throughput, quality, cost and security. Also, with the evolution of GSM to 3G, various security features have been improved and implemented to protect the integrity of the user, states the report.

 

“With the convergence of IT and cellular, high throughput and low bandwidth cryptographic algorithms need to be developed to exchange information across various devices, applications and networks,” explains Frost & Sullivan Research Analyst Jayashree Rajagopal. “In order to tap this opportunistic market, the cellular ecosystem would need to implement an efficient network protocol that will ensure the security of applications used and information transmitted within the healthcare sector.”

 

The report states that applications such as EHR, CPOE, DSS and PACS utilise sensitive and personal information. These applications require reliable infrastructure to be maintained not only within a country but world-wide as well, states the report.

 

Recently, the company released a new report, titled “Western European Conferencing Services Market,” which showed that the conferencing market in Western Europe earned revenues of $1.12 billion in 2008 and will reach $2.31 billion in 2014. According to the report, companies in Western Europe are slashing their travel budgets in order to cut costs in light of the current economic recession.

 

Back to WiFi Revolution home