Solutions

Allied Telesis Solutions for Healthcare

Connected Hospital LAN Solutions

Many hospitals are updating their network systems in order to support adoption of Electronic Medical Records, to deploy new ordering systems, to inter-connect multiple departments, or to enable large volumes of digital images to be transported and processed. When it comes to viewing patients' records, doctors demand accuracy, speed, and clarity. Security also is vital to maintain patients' privacy.

The ability to rapidly configure and connect mission-critical devices requires an operating system designed to take complexity out and create a service-oriented architecture. Allied Telesis AlliedWare Plus™ operating systems do exactly that. Having a wide range of switching platforms designed for edge connectivity, distributed networking and access aggregation operating on a common operating system platform brings a simple yet economic approach to building the hospital LAN. Features like Virtual Stacking (VCStack™) and Link Aggregation (LAG) add value via network simplification and management.

Critical applications such as medical imaging and other high bandwidth applications need the same level of high availability normally associated with core NW solutions. Solutions like the x908, the Allied Telesis Network Management System (NMS), and the x3112, have been built from the ground up for the edge of the network, but with features and functionality equivalent to much more expensive core NW switches, like the Cisco 6500. Many hospitals are developing their networks with the SwitchBlade™ x908 and x900 Series switches at the core, alongside other Allied Telesis Gigabit Ethernet switches. This architecture ensures a highly-reliable, scalable, and secure network.

A typical hospital network configuration is shown below:

On a price-per-port basis at a typical mid-sized hospital (approx. 300 beds and close to 3,000 ports), Allied Telesis solutions save over 50% of the NW purchase cost, but deliver high availability, advanced edge security, simple network configuration and management, and high bandwidth.

Governments are encouraging healthcare providers to invest in enabling technologies that improve efficiency, streamline record-keeping, provide doctors with real-time access to medical images, and centrally store patient records. Programs such as ARRA and HITECH in the U.S. present both opportunities and challenges for hospitals as money is potentially available but often requires a cumbersome amount of paperwork to qualify. With its long history of partnering with government and healthcare organizations, Allied Telesis is adept at guiding medical providers through the often-complex world of grants and legislative mandates while simultaneously providing the network systems critical to the success of healthcare facilities' adoption or expansion of vital diagnostic and administrative solutions.