The decision to switch to a new wireless provider is an important one. You need to know you can connect as easily on the job—whether that’s a hospital, clinic or another facility—as you can at home or anywhere else. You may wonder about cost, coverage, customer service—and what a network has to offer healthcare professionals.
In fact, FirstNet®, Built with AT&T, is a nationwide network built specifically for first responders. And that now includes healthcare professionals like you. In fact, more than 20,500 agencies and organizations are on the FirstNet network across the U.S. We know that efficient, timely and reliable communication makes all the difference in caring for your patients. Here are five ways the network helps make your work easier and more effective, taken from our just-released eBook, “Connecting Healthcare When and Where it Matters Most.”
1. You get priority connection to the network.
When a crisis hits, first responders and healthcare providers need reliable, uninterrupted real-time communication capabilities. FirstNet gives you the prioritized connectivity you need so you’re never competing with commercial networks, which can get bogged down in a crisis. This access is only available to eligible organizations and individuals who are essential to maintaining public safety, including healthcare professionals and your colleagues in public safety.
2. You can connect to responders at the scene, even before a patient arrives at the hospital.
Getting reliable, near real-time information about patients from the scene of an accident, natural disaster or another crisis before they reach the emergency department (ED) can dramatically improve outcomes. Through FirstNet, EMS and other first responders can connect seamlessly with healthcare providers to transmit vital patient information while the ambulance is inbound. Nurses, physicians and other essential staff can prepare response teams and equipment, enabling care to begin immediately upon arrival.
The network also makes it easier and faster for first responders to share large data files and other real-time monitoring, such as EKG results. This saves precious time sorting through diagnostic information or ordering duplicate tests once the patient is in the ED. If a patient must be transferred to a larger trauma center, the initial healthcare team can transmit MRIs, CT scans, EKG results and more instantly via FirstNet’s secure, HIPAA-compliant network (more on that below).
3. You can monitor patients with chronic conditions over time to improve health outcomes.
FirstNet isn’t just for emergency physicians and nurses; many other providers are part of the extended audience eligible for the network. A family physician, for example, may need to monitor patients with chronic health conditions such as diabetes, hypertension or a heart condition. The network makes it easier to provide regular, ongoing care, even when your patients are remote. The extensive broadband coverage gives providers across the country—from big cities to rural communities—enhanced coverage to connect when and where they need.
4. When data is stored or transferred, it’s encrypted and HIPAA-compliant.
Healthcare communications are held to a higher standard of privacy and security; HIPAA laws prevent providers from exchanging sensitive patient data over unsecured networks. Breaches in these laws can cost your organization through both financial penalties and a loss of public trust. FirstNet is highly secure, allowing you to comply with HIPAA regulations. So you can feel confident that your patients’ data is protected as it’s transmitted from first responders at the scene to providers in the hospital or another healthcare facility. You can also exchange secure messages and share medical histories, test results and treatment plans with your colleagues and participating facilities to coordinate care and improve patient outcomes.
5. FirstNet has apps designed with your work in mind.
FirstNet offers a full catalog of apps specifically designed for public safety. What’s more, the apps included have been carefully vetted to meet our standards for usability, reliability, accuracy, and security so you can comply with HIPAA. (You’ll find more about some of these apps throughout this eBook. To explore the catalog, go to firstnet.com/apps.html)
To learn more about FirstNet for healthcare professionals like you, download our new eBook, “Connecting Healthcare When and Where it Matters Most” or visit firstnet.com/healthcare