Wireless Case Study

1
Wireless Case Study

• Jan Snyder
• San Antonio Community Hospital
• Upland, CA

2
Why Wireless?

• Highly mobile workforce
• Need instant and continuous access to information
• Desire greater staff efficiencies
• Opportunity to improve service

3
Wireless Experience

• First-generation WLAN installed 1999
• Wi-Fi intriguing but costly to install and
  support
• Difficult to troubleshoot, limited capabilities
• Very difficult to scale

4
Critical Requirements

• Physician/nurse communications
• Access to PACS (Picture Archiving and
  Communications Systems)
• Storage and retrieval of radiographic images
• Improves drug delivery accuracy
• Efficient patient flow management
• Leverage existing infrastructure

5
Importance of Redundancy

• PACS network requires failure-resistant
  infrastructure
• Layer 3 network
• Two core switches
• No failure in 43 months

6
Need for True Mobility

• Crossing Layer 3 subnet boundaries is critical
• Layer 2-based WLAN system enables greatest
  mobility
• Applications, such as voice, uninterrupted while
  roaming
• Secure connections link wireless users between
  PACS subnets
• Secure encryption guarantees privacy

7
Roaming Across Layer 3
8
Services Improved

• Emergency bedside data entry
• Surgery wireless x-ray display
• Admission quicker assessment
• Case management improves care, streamlines
  patient flow
• Discharge frees up bed space for new patients

9
Voice over Wireless IP

• Permits nurses to communicate with
  physicians
• Requires support for fast roaming with
  no change of IP address
• Requires strong QoS in WLAN
• Enabled via new PBX that links wireless to
  desktop phones

10
Total Cost of Ownership(One-Year Period)
Old Arch. New Arch.
Capital 180,000 149,000
Ops Site survey 8,000 2,000
Cabling 53,000 53,000
Deployment 37,000 2,000
Config APs 15,000 1,000
Support 25,000 2,000
subtotal 128,000 63,000
TCO (one year) 318,000 212,000
11
Total Cost of Ownership(Five-Year Period)
Cost Old Arch New Arch
Capital 360,000 298,000
Operations 488,000 148,000
TCO (5 years) 848,000 446,000
12
Productivity Gains
Old Net New Net Annual Savings
Case mgmt 15 patients/ nurse/day 20 patients/ nurse/day 150,000
Emergency 20,000
Admissions 86,000
Discharge 67,000
IS 42,000
Total 365,000
Formula 33 productivity increase X annual nurse
salary X 15 nurses
150,000
13
Return on Investment

• Costs for one year 212,000
• Savings for one year 365,000
• ROI less than one year

14
WLAN Meets Needs

• Physicians and nurses communicate continually
• Constant access to PACS for
  radiology images
• Efficient patient flow
• Admission, case management, discharge
• Leverages existing network

15
Lessons Learned(Microsoft 2001 Deployment)
Microsoft Problems SACH Solution
25 users per AP Design for capacity
10-meter rule Dual-radio APs
Manual site survey Automated planning
1 service call per 40 APs per day Automated tool for troubleshooting
Two cables datalink and console Two cables redundant Ethernet
Backup AP configs Configs stored in database
Buglight syndrome Dual PoE, datalinks
16
Benefits for Users

• Users roam and communicate
• Ease of use
• No changes to their handheld device, wearable
  phones
• Security authentication and encryption
• Users transmit data securely
• Mobility
• Users always have correct network access as they
  roam (Identity-Based Networking)

17
Benefits for IT

• Simplified planning and design
• Depiction of RF transmissions
• Automatic configuration of WLAN
• WLAN switches and APs
• No changes to clients or core network
• User location on the floor plan
• Rogue detection and location on plan
• APs, users, ad hoc users
• 70 to 90 reduction in OpEx