HIMSS: Strategic partnerships help drive healthcare infrastructure modernization

Network infrastructure has transformed from a support function to a critical enabler of modern healthcare technology. That’s what HIMSS Market Insights confirmed when they spoke to healthcare leaders in December 2024 and January 2025. 

Infrastructure has become an increasingly crucial aspect of healthcare in the USA. The “care anywhere” movement has seen more mobile and remote monitoring devices trying to access networks and data, more automated and AI-driven tools accessing EHR systems, and more cyber safeguards deployed. Budget constraints, particularly in smaller organizations, can limit the capacity to invest in robust infrastructure solutions. 

In an effort to gain healthcare leaders’ perspective on network bandwidth and digital infrastructure within their organization, HIMSS Market Insights posed probing questions on subjects such as: ​

• IT infrastructure efficacy and challenges with respect to the supporting technologies used to achieve care delivery goals
• Latency impacts on workflows and operations
• Organizational attitudes toward infrastructure, connectivity, and cloud solutions

There is a growing need for strategic partnerships with technology providers to help drive infrastructure modernization. Such partnerships enable healthcare organizations (HCO) to scale innovation and address emerging demands efficiently. The best service providers understand the network demand and management complexity created by the proliferation of devices. These companies partner to work in tandem with healthcare leaders and deliver sound infrastructure solutions that offer robust automation, layered security, data prioritization and scalable capacity.

As HCOs continue to grow and adopt new technologies, their network infrastructure must be capable of scaling seamlessly without compromising performance or cost. This scalability will ensure that the network can manage the increasing demands of data-intensive applications, connected devices, and emerging technologies such as edge computing.

Upgrading network capabilities

According to the HIMMS Market Insight findings, most HCOs need to improve their infrastructure now. The survey found that only around half of organizations have the infrastructure to fully support solutions needed for data exchange (54%), and even fewer are capable of fully supporting IoT and wearable devices, artificial intelligence, and blockchain for data security and file sharing. Surprisingly, insufficient network bandwidth or connectivity is more likely to be an issue for larger organizations with more than $3B in annual revenue (26% vs. 4% with less) and 1,000+ hospital beds (21% vs. 0% with fewer). 

Two in three organizations also report challenges with legacy systems that lack integration capabilities, and the high cost of upgrades. 

Insufficient bandwidth and other infrastructure limitations can contribute to network latency, which can cause big problems in care delivery. Half of the leaders reported reduced efficiency in imaging uploads or transfers due to latency, while a third noted that it caused an increase in data synchronization times as well as complications with real-time alerts or notifications. 

Three key takeaways

1. Hospitals and health systems need to enhance IT infrastructure to support digital health transformation for care delivery: HCO infrastructure is already capable of fully supporting electronic health records, patient portals, and clinical decision support systems. Yet, there is work to be done when it comes to supporting other technologies. Many HCOs currently have the infrastructure to partially support technologies like IoT, but enhancements are needed to enable implementation of the technologies that will help them reach their care delivery goals and achieve their full potential.​
2. Concerns with security and compliance present the top infrastructure-related challenges when it comes to supporting technologies for care delivery: Two in three organizations report challenges with legacy systems that lack integration capabilities, and the high costs needed for upgrades. Insufficient bandwidth capacity and other infrastructure limitations can contribute to network latency, which can cause major complications in care delivery. 
3. Organizations most commonly prioritize IT solutions that eliminate the need for costly hardware purchases and maintenance: They also look for solutions that ensure system reliability and reduce downtime during cloud transitions. They seek solutions that support seamless integration with existing systems, reducing migration cost and complexity. When it comes to disaster recovery and network resiliency solutions, the top three features ranked as most critical were having automated failover and data redundancy, secure, end-to-end performance across sites, and real-time monitoring and alerts for network issues.

Healthcare IT executives must evaluate existing network architecture. They need to find areas to improve digital experiences and secure data, and work across the entire organization to develop baseline standards that align with capabilities while preparing for future needs.

Without sound infrastructure, HCOs will never fully realize the transformational potential of emerging technology to meet the care delivery and patient experience standards required by healthcare consumerism.

Robust, scalable and secure connectivity is the foundation of distributed care delivery. This can enable HCOs to deliver personalized care at home, improve clinical outcomes, and continue reshaping the future of patient care. At this point, few HCOs have secured and seamless data pipelines encompassing all their major infrastructure components.

Spectrum Business can help

A trusted industry partner for over 10 years, Spectrum Business for enterprise provides technology solutions to 90% of the largest health systems in the United States. Our customers benefit from our high-performing, nationwide fiber network, expert-managed solutions and personalized client support. Experience the benefits of healthcare managed services from Spectrum Business built specifically for your unique needs.

Will we see you at HIMSS25, March 3-7, 2025, in Las Vegas?

We’d love to see you and hear your thoughts about how AI-powered innovations can benefit your healthcare organization, or digital transformation initiatives like cloud migration, next-gen telehealth, and cybersecurity. We’ll be at Booth #2021. Let’s talk.