As more hospitals turn toward 5G cellular networks, Houston Methodist Chief Technology Officer Jim Francis told Becker's "5G by itself isn't going to be the solution."
In July, Cleveland Clinic opened a hospital in Mentor, Ohio, that was totally outfitted with 5G through a partnership with Verizon. Palo Alto (Calif.) VA Medical Center also became the first VA hospital to go fully 5G.
As healthcare increasingly digitizes, Mr. Francis pointed to the combination of 5G with Internet of Things devices as a way to move healthcare into the future.
"It's going to be a different issue as we go forward because we're going to be seeing so many more IoT devices in the industry," said Mr. Francis. Hospitals are turning toward IoT security vendors to protect medical devices connected to their IT networks.
Mr. Francis also said that hospitals need to ensure that their network can handle the digital needs of their patients. Houston Methodist is working with AT&T and Verizon to give patients a network experience similar to a "stadium" or a "baseball game."
The hospital is trying to create a network where patients can walk in and the "spectrum automatically adjusts based on what carrier you are."