The Importance of Network Monitoring in the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT)

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With advances in health technology, there are now more and more devices that are a part of how doctors care for their patients. These devices, like medical monitoring devices, diagnostic machines, and telemedicine equipment, make up the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT). With so much equipment sending and receiving patient data, network monitoring in healthcare is more important than ever. Any device that connects and transmits health data from patient to physician—whether wired or wireless—should be monitored. Devices in the IoMT can be monitored to ensure the device is working and providing the most accurate data possible.

Devices in the IoMT

Remote patient monitoring helps doctors monitor their patients from afar as patients go about living their daily lives. Doctors can send patients home with wearable health devices, glucose monitors, pacemakers, and more, to constantly gather health information without having the patient stay in the hospital. This gives physicians a complete picture of a patient’s health so they can provide a more advanced care plan.

New advances in communications technology adds more to the IoMT. Telemedicine is on the rise, making it easier for patients to connect with their doctors. Thanks to video conference calls, patients can visit with their doctor without even leaving their home. Plus, patients have even more direct access to physicians through messaging on patient portals and other medical apps.

The IoMT also extends to diagnostic machines like x-ray, ultrasound, and MRI machines in a healthcare facility. Aside from diagnostic imaging, other life-saving machines are also included like ventilators, infusion pumps, hospital beds, and more.

The IoMT gives doctors and patients the benefits of better care, saved time, and more accurate medical data. If these important medical devices and ways of doctor-patient interaction stopped working, health facilities would not only lose these great benefits, but could face potentially life-threatening problems.

Get Live, Dynamic Views of Your Network

Your network goes beyond just your IT network, especially in a healthcare facility or hospital where there are new types of devices being used. That’s why it’s important to see the full picture and monitor all the devices in your network infrastructure—from the standard IT devices to the IoMT to facility and security devices. With comprehensive network monitoring and mapping software, you can auto-discover and monitor any device with an IP address. That way you can always keep track of the status of your most important devices.

Great network monitoring and mapping software also provides live mapping so you can know exactly what’s happening on  your network at any moment. Getting a live view helps you spot problems in seconds, not hours, so you can stay on top of system health and reduce the risk of downtime.

Monitor Network Bandwidth

In the medical field, time is one of the most important resources. When lives are on the line or when medical tests can give peace of mind, patients want to get results as fast as they can. The stronger the network connection, the more easily the devices in your IoMT can connect and report results and data to doctors. By keeping healthcare networks performing at optimal levels, doctors know they’re always getting the most accurate and up-to-date data from IoMT devices.

Network monitoring software can ensure doctors are able to connect with devices and avoid potential outages by giving admins the proper tools to monitor bandwidth. Bandwidth monitoring allows admins to determine actual bandwidth availability on systems so they can better understand usage, traffic flow, and other network strains across your IT environment, then make adjustments to ensure the network is always running optimally.

Reliable Alerts

You can use network monitoring software to send alerts to administrators of a potential error or problem with critical pieces of medical equioment within your IoMT. These alerts can let you know when things like a service stops running, a response time exceeds pre-set thresholds, or other network device or server health issues are detected. By getting alerted to slowdowns or failures as they happen, you can resolve performance issues faster before patients are affected.

Keep Your IoMT Healthy with Network Monitoring from Intermapper

Intermapper software brings powerful network monitoring and mapping to healthcare facilities so they can keep their networks—and patients—healthy and strong. Your network goes beyond your network, and with Intermapper, you can monitor all the devices in the IoMT and beyond to get real-time views of your entire network.

Intermapper’s alerting capabilities help healthcare users stay ahead of outages by monitoring traffic and sending alerts when there’s trouble. With the peace of mind that the network is performing optimally, healthcare providers can provide patients with the highest quality of care. Plus, Intermapper is HIPAA compliant, which means that users won’t have to worry about not meeting compliance mandates.