Today, many healthcare organizations are already using many endpoint devices, such as blood pressure monitors, IV pumps, electrocardiogram and MRI machines, and implanted defibrillators. Other commonly found devices include printers, the imaging suite, biomedical devices, and IoT devices. The increase in the number of devices has made it more difficult for IT departments to manage.
As the number of devices grows, healthcare IT professionals must deal with two challenges in endpoint management. First is the issue of optimizing healthcare providers’ access to these lifesaving devices. The second is ensuring that these devices’ vital data are secured from harm. Unlike endpoints used in other industries like financial services, healthcare technologies are far less segmented. Different devices and applications need to communicate with each other to ensure excellent patient care. However, this also makes data security a more significant challenge.
It may seem that simplifying endpoint management and security is something that can wait. But the fact is, it may be more critical now than ever and it’s important to free up necessary IT resources when they are needed most.
Endpoint Management Challenges for Healthcare Organizations
The number of networked medical devices and mobile endpoints across the healthcare industry is increasing, as is the amount of data being shared. More than ever, there is a great demand for real-time data to ensure that healthcare providers are making timely and accurate decisions for patient care. However, many healthcare organizations lack the IT resources to manage their network of endpoint devices effectively. These challenges include:
Security
Any time you have a network of connected devices transferring and sending data, there are bound to be questions of how to secure the data. Data security is especially important in healthcare, where sensitive patient data is sent between nurses, doctors, and surgeons regularly. However, according to a recent cybersecurity survey, only 22% of organizations did not experience a significant security incident in the previous 12 months. Security challenges are serious risks in the healthcare industry, and IT admins must be on the lookout for potential system vulnerabilities.
Device Management
Modern hospitals and healthcare organizations can have difficulty managing all of their endpoint devices. Often, their IT department has trouble securing (or even knowing) the devices on the network. For example, something as simple as a printer can cause headaches when configuring security control. As printers become more complex in their functionality and more versatile in processing power, IT staff must devote more resources to updating and securing these machines. Other devices like biomedical devices and imaging suites may be leased or purchased on contracts, making it more expensive and troublesome to handle.
Why mission-critical endpoint devices need to be reliable in a healthcare setting
Today’s healthcare organizations strive for operational excellence while facing a unique set of IT challenges. Plow Networks can help by empowering IT organizations in healthcare to enhance endpoint compliance and security while saving valuable time and resources. By enabling improved endpoint visibility and new levels of automation, Plow Networks provides a powerful, cost-effective and unified endpoint management solution.
Contact us for an in-depth security vulnerability assessment.
About Plow Networks
Plow Networks is a leading IT services provider, connecting businesses to technology since 2012. With deep expertise in network, cloud, and end user support services, we partner with clients to leverage technology in ways that simplify operations and fuel growth. Plow Networks is based in Brentwood, Tennessee.
