Optimising Data Centre Performance Within the Healthcare Sector
Introduction
We are living through a time of huge technological change. The 4th Industrial Revolution – characterised by a fusion of technologies that is blurring the lines between the physical, digital, and biological spheres – is disrupting almost every industry, and healthcare is no exception. The application of current technological innovations within this sector has the potential to transform the way care is delivered, change how healthcare facilities operate and dramatically improve patient experience.
This White Paper from ABB sets out to examine healthcare’s increasing reliance on data and the associated challenges. It has a particular focus on optimising data centre performance and offers practical advice for data centre transformation. While focused on the healthcare industry, this paper is also relevant to other sectors facing similar challenges, such as an increasing dependence on quick and easy access to sensitive data, limited resources and zero tolerance for downtime.
Key Developments Within Healthcare
This paper explores three key developments that are contributing to the ever-increasing importance of data within the healthcare sector.
- The widespread development and adoption of Electronic Health Record (EHR) systems which allow the creation of a digital version of each patient’s journey, from consultation to prescription.
- Improvements in diagnostic imaging, including the introduction of ultra-fast scans, 3D imaging and advanced in-depth imaging, are helping healthcare professionals to more clearly understand patients’ ailments than ever before.
- The integration of connected devices presents new opportunities for the delivery of care and may completely change the way in which healthcare institutions operate.
As healthcare comes to rely more heavily than ever on data, the processing and storage of this data is increasingly important. Data centres are now a critical component in delivering patient care.
Data Storage Challenges
Healthcare facilities are faced with a variety of challenges when it comes to data storage.
- The data itself – the amount of information is rapidly growing and sensitive in nature, so therfore highly regulated.
- The physical space available – it is a healthcare facility first and foremost. It is likely there is a lack of space and a lack of power.
- Limited budget for improvements – equipment may be aging and not built built fdor the purpose it must now serve.
- Downtime becomes a serious risk the more that healthcare faciltiies rely on data.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, there are a number of steps to consider when looking at how to improve data centres within healthcare facilities.
- It is important to develop a plan for optimisation based on small but significant changes. This should include gradually retiring old equipment whilst implementing scalable solutions. This will allow the data centre to expand capacity quickly and easily in future, without taking up more physical space.
- Collaboration is essential, and this likely means working with a much wider group of stakeholders as the number of departments using technology rooted in the data centre increases.
- Planning must guard against the variety of causes of downtime.
- It is necessary to implement a platform that all departments and applications can use to access data.
- A high performance strategy, which incorporates integrated archiving can help to reduce costs.
To find out more, read the full ABB white paper entitled: Optimising Data Centre Performance Within the Healthcare Sector. This is available via the link found further down this page.
ABOUT ABB
ABB is a leading global technology company that energises the transformation of society and industry to achieve a more productive, sustainable future. Our comprehensive portfolio of proven data centre solutions helps our data centre clients keep uptime up, outages out and disruptions to the absolute minimum so you won’t get left in the dark! With excellence stretching back more than 130 years, and 105,000 talented employees in over 100 countries, ABB can help you keep your data centre up and running smoothly, reliably and smarter.
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Published 28th June 2022