Advancing Health Care Efficiency Through Wi-Fi and Automations

Discover insights from Wyebot CEO Roger Sands on leveraging Wi-Fi technologies and automation to streamline health care systems, minimizing touchpoints for IT departments and health care professionals alike.

Please introduce yourself by stating your name, your title, and your professional background.

Roger Sands: Roger Sands. I'm the CEO of Wyebot. I've been in the networking sector for 30 years, running high-tech business units for Fortune 500 companies and startups. I've been in the enterprise mobility space Wi-Fi technology for the last 20 years. And so during that journey, we saw the evolution of what's happening in the marketplace, and that drove my co-founder and I to start Wyebot. Before Wyebot, I ran HP's global Wi-Fi business for 7 years working with enterprise customers in school districts world-wide, obviously health care. And my co-founder and I realized that we needed to build a solution that's automated Wi-Fi automation. And so we left HP and started Wyebot, and now we're a market leader in this type of technology.

What services does Wyebot and similar technologies provide to the health care industry?

Roger Sands: We focus on what we call network automation. It's a newer type of market segment industry where at HP and before that, most of the industry today, as you may know, is what we call manual reactive. So, doctors, nurses, patients, and staff are moving around these health care facilities and doing telehealth, etc. They also have network connectivity and Wi-Fi performance issues. It may be with a badge that they're using, communicate with doctors and nurses, maybe their cart that they carry around dialysis machines, but any type of connected device, which, as we know, is exploding right now. They have intermittent performance issues. As you can imagine, in the health care space, this is very critical. We can't have downtime; we can't have disruption; it can influence patient care. And so HIPAA compliance. And so that's what drove us to this new initiative. We call it network automation, which moves away from manual reactive to automated using AI technology. We're shifting this whole IT concept, not just in health care, but that's one of the market segments we're focused on. But we're focused on using AI technology and software automation to be proactive in managing and operating these dynamic networks that we live in today.

Do health care technologies have the potential to significantly decrease administrative touchpoints and alleviate pain points for health care professionals?

Roger Sands: Well, absolutely. We have metrics from our customers, and this is really exciting because we've been on the other side. We've been in the manual reactive at HP and my prior companies, supporting and working with all these health care institutions. And when we rolled out our solution, we saw up to a 90% reduction in the meantime to resolution, solving complex issues, and maintaining high-performance networks, and a reduction in Wi-Fi tickets and networking tickets by up to 80%. So, we have some very hard facts and data points, ROI, that shows to these health care organizations as they're getting increasingly complex with cloud computing, mobile connectivity, the explosion of connected devices, as we said, dialysis machines, patient monitoring equipment, and telehealth. And so the networks are only getting more complex. Most of the IT organizations need to expand in terms of headcount. They have fixed headcount. And so the way to address it was automation, and that's where we have the metrics that show, yes, we're reducing meantime to resolution on issues, we're improving the quality of the end user experience, both for patients and for the staff.

Amidst the widespread adoption of automation to simplify tasks, it's crucial to acknowledge that without a dependable network, these advancements are rendered ineffective. Automated technologies hold promise in streamlining the laborious initial processes in health care services.

Roger Sands: You summarized it very well. Technologies enable IT teams that are, as you know, especially post-COVID-19, be strapped and busy. We understand it; we work with them. Technologies actually free up valuable time for health systems so they can focus on business improvements, focus on other key initiatives to streamline the operations and improve the overall networks within these organizations.

How do you foresee AI driven Wi-Fi technology contributing to the assurance of HIPAA compliance in the health care sector? Are there any obstacles that come up when you're trying to connect everything and trying to make sure things run seamlessly?

Roger Sands: Yeah, we all know HIPAA compliance is critical to health care operations and infrastructure related to HIPAA. There are all kinds of elements around that when you get into networking, Wi-Fi world, and to IoT devices, making sure authorized devices in the environment have been approved, etc. So, with automation and AI technology, the same with network quality assurance and business continuity. In addition to that, it's also leveraging the ability to help be HIPAA compliant because we can automatically detect unauthorized devices, we can detect attacks on the network within the network, etc. So there's a whole suite of capabilities where automation helps business continuity and HIPAA compliance for these organizations.

AI and Wi-Fi often carry a stigma regarding their capabilities, but in reality, they offer significant benefits, particularly in health care, where numerous individuals are burdened with mundane tasks, leaving little time for patient care. What benefits can you identify that might counteract this stigma?

Roger Sands: Yes. One important thing about the Wyebot solution you were asking about earlier is that we do not get involved in our system, our solution, or our value add with any patient data. So we don't look at patient data, we don't ask for patient data, and we don't touch patient data. So, we have nothing to do with all that information and payload data. We're looking at the network itself, how the networks operate wired in Wi-Fi, and what's happening in the Wi-Fi spectrum in the airspace. So, it's not only the health care facilities' Wi-Fi network; there are neighbors, printers, personal devices, and no devices. So, we call it visibility and awareness. You must be vigilant in health care with 24/7 visibility and awareness with proactive notification. The good news is we stay out of our solution, we stay out of, and don't get involved with any patient information. We're focused on the network operations, like you said, so we can optimize and automate that component so that it can focus on other business-critical activities.

Are there specific considerations for health care professionals or business leaders to bear in mind during telehealth visits? Are there overlooked benefits associated with telehealth visits facilitated by digital software?

Roger Sands: We have 2 components of our solution. We have an on-premises solution deployed in hospitals, clinics, doctor's offices, etc. And so, when doctors and nurses, et cetera, who are doing telehealth, they typically use their equipment, and those are becoming more and more leveraged over Wi-Fi networks. It used to be wired-controlled, etc, but we see a dramatic increase because the staff members are flexible. They're doing this telehealth in their office, moving around, etc. So very powerful there. We already have that solution. We've been shipping it for years. Last year, in 2023, we announced collaboration with Intel, with Intel, and so this year, we're launching a software application for mobile computers, laptops, and tablets. Not only does this complement our existing on-prem solution, but it's also designed for the mobile workforce, both for doctors and nurses moving around these facilities when they're doing telehealth.

And it's also designed for on-home networks, what we call the distributed enterprise, etc. When they bring their computers home and they're doing telehealth from their home office, etc, we have a software application in collaboration with Intel. We developed a package with them that goes onto the computers. It allows IT organizations, independent of where they are around the world, to be able to understand exactly what's happening on the network side, not the personal data, but on the network side if there are any intermittent performance issues, whether at home and their doctor's office will be able to automatically using our AI software, detect what those issues are and notify it when they're happening and how to solve them.

And nothing's worse than being told if you're a patient going to a doctor's office or you're waiting for telehealth that their system is down and they have to wait for it to get back up or they can't access the Wi-Fi where they are. We overlook all of these things because we want the luxury of having a telehealth visit or trying to make things work when, in reality, it doesn't have to be that difficult, especially when we have a solution like Wyebot. So, it's just, in my professional opinion, where health care needs to start heading, especially because, as we discussed earlier, everything's becoming automated. People are looking at different ways to advance AI so we can reduce a lot of the menial work and get people to focus on health care. This is coming at a time when it really matters to make other businesses who are trying to get ahead of the times be able to do that. So it's just great.

What benefits does automation bring, and how can free trials assist health care IT departments that are hesitant about implementing automation in their systems?

Roger Sands: Because we've worked with health care IT organizations for so long, we know how busy they are. They don't get enough vacation breaks; it's just reality, right? It's just crazy because they're going 24/7, like the hospitals and clinics, so they must support that. So, we built a Wyebot free trial process as well, in addition to the production solution. It's all the same, but it's all automated plug-and-play. You don't have to take online training courses. It's just plugging it in up and running, and they can immediately see the impact in their environment.

These time-saving features are essential for health care professionals, who often find themselves without breaks and little time to spare. Offering a trial without extensive training sessions is particularly valuable, as many individuals may feel overwhelmed by technical jargon and new terminology associated with unfamiliar technologies like Wi-Fi. It can feel like learning a new language, which adds to the resistance some may feel towards adopting new tools. Simplifying the transition process can help alleviate this resistance and encourage adoption.

Roger Sands: Exactly. That's why we focused on the entire company, from the trials to production to support organizations. We focused on ease of use, automation, and simplicity so that they can adapt to this new and exciting technology without consuming valuable time and resources.

How do you anticipate health care organizations to make progressive plans with automated solutions in the coming year?

Roger Sands: One, just in Wi-Fi in general, if I talk about the technology, it's exciting because it keeps evolving, meaning it gets faster, more secure, and has better connectivity. Still, at the same time, new technology keeps coming out, which creates a lot of interoperability issues and other challenges. So, the technology's going to keep evolving. We're seeing Wi-Fi 6E, which is Wi-Fi operating in the 6-gigahertz spectra, another whole spectrum coming into the market and starting to gain traction. So that is just talking about trends for a minute. In 2024, we will continue to see the adoption of Wi-Fi 6E technology. Now, the reason I wanted to bring that up is no surprise: it brings benefits but challenges because Wi-Fi 6E is a new spectrum, and the coverage area is different from what we have today.

Just the cell size of the coverage area, the security requirements from Wi-Fi 6E are very stringent, which is good meaning as we move forward in health care and HIPAA and all that. But at the same time, when you have users that move around like you talked about, that are mobile in a hospital, in a clinic and are moving around, that may shift from 6 gigahertz to 5 gigahertz technology in the same facility, which is going to be very common. That creates a lot of different challenges. So the benefit of a solution like Y is that we're monitoring all that with our software all the time. We can detect these complex networking-related issues, and we provide incredible insights. We have historical data for trending analysis, what you were asking for, trending analysis on performance connectivity, number of devices, etc, so they can now look at the trending analysis to determine how to migrate the technologies over time. In many situations, they don't have to upgrade their access points when they think they do because there are other optimizations. They can make those changes. They're good for another year or two. So, the benefit of an independent solution is to give them an honest assessment of the entire network Wi-Fi ecosystem, looking at the trends, which'll help them decide on a plan for the next couple of years.

These networks will get increasingly complex due to the Wi-Fi technology and the number of connected devices. Suppose you think about distributed health care operations where they have clinics around a region or country and have different hospitals, but their IT teams are in most cases. In that case, they need a larger team in all these locations. It's not possible, not affordable. But now with Wyebot, you have visibility and proactive monitoring analysis going on, trending for all those locations right at your desktop. And so you can see what's happening and take corrective action when necessary for business continuity. We backed that up with a support team, all of which included some of the best Wi-Fi engineers in the country at Wyebot. And so now if there are some questions about newer technology or something that's going on and they want to bounce it off an expert, they just reach out to support@wibo.com.

In terms of technology and emerging innovations, what roles or functions do you anticipate innovative network technologies will play in improving efficiencies within the health care system?

Roger Sands: I mean, think of patient safety. Let's go right there in terms of IT—organizations within health care need to be highly efficient. We're talking about mission-critical environments in a lot of situations. Everything runs from ER rooms, right? ER rooms all the way through, and having automation facilitates patient safety and HIPAA compliance for security. As you mentioned earlier, doing that in an automated fashion is now a game changer. And we believe that. And the customers who see an action agree that this is the future. This is where the industry needs to go: we have to leverage automation to help our day-to-day operations. Then, we start migrating it into these other activities we need to do, like you said, to continue moving forward with health care.

What would you like the audience to walk away with from this interview?

Roger Sands: I mentioned the term network automation at the beginning of this interview. It's a newer concept, and I understand that. As I mentioned, I've been in networking for 30 years, and it's a very powerful concept. I strongly encourage your audience to try it out; whether it's Wyebot, a competitor; it doesn't matter because it will make a difference in your lives. It's going to free up time, it's going to free up money, it's going to free up frustrated users and operations. And so, I strongly encourage you to try it. When we use the term AI, it's powerful and exciting, but when we use ai, it's in a very controlled fashion. I know that AI is used across the industry in many different settings, and some people are more hesitant about it than others. But in our environment, it's very controlled. We can look at the data, the network data, not the payload, not the customer data, or the network operations, and make decisions based on that because it's very predictable, high-quality, and robust in maintaining business continuity.