| | JUNE 201819CIOReviewCambium NetworksConnecting the UnconnectedFRUSTRATIONS OF A HEALTHCARE CIOBy Mark Crandall, CIO, Consulate Health CareAs a national leading provider of senior healthcare services to 150 care centers in 15 states, Consulate Health Care has grown with a strong focus on patient needs. When I took the post as CIO back in 2014, my team was driven by company goals where I knew a world-class Information Technology (IT) team could make a difference: improved care coordination through data interoperability, better clinical outcomes through data-driven decision making, and the protection of our patients' health information. In 2014, most computer users at Consulate were back-office employees. We needed to extend our IT services to more than fifteen thousand practitioners employed by Consulate as well as third-party physician groups that care for our patients every day with their hearts and hands. It was our responsibility to put tools in their hands (cell phones, tablets, etc.) that delivers the data they need to care for our patients at the bedside. To be successful, we required a solution that would allow simple and secure access to permitted devices (those carried by our employees and trusted physicians) while locking out devices that weren't pre-authorized. Adding a user-friendly, internet-accessible network for our patients' families that provided convenient internet access, without access to our secure network, was another requirement when designing our wireless network. After three years of time and investment, we have that solution. We have blanketed each care center with a wireless infrastructure and upgraded circuits to be sure that the bandwidth-hungry applications are satiated without impact to enterprise systems. We have strong security policies coupled with user-friendly on-boarding procedures to be sure that whether you are an employee, a third-party practitioner, or a state surveyor, you can get the Mark Crandall
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