Chicago-based Rush University Medical Center, an academic health system, and its clinically integrated provider network Rush System for Health, partnered with AT&T to use 5G technology in certain facilities.
Rush will leverage AT&T's 5G network, Multi-Access Edge Computing, a cloud-based IT service environment to support technologies at some of its facilities, connecting people, devices and robotic technologies, among others. AT&T MEC services will allow Rush to manage its cellular traffic over both its local network and its wide area network.
"The technology will enhance access to care, even from long distances, while also helping to decrease costs and improve efficiency," said Shafiq Rab, MD, senior vice president and CIO at Rush University Medical Center and the Rush system. "Imagine sometime, in the not too distant future, for example a doctor performing a virtual visit with a patient while downloading an entire MRI scan within seconds. The cutting-edge applications we're implementing need a fast, reliable network to support them. That's why we turned to AT&T."
Additionally, Rush and AT&T will explore the use of mobile technology in the healthcare environment.