Healthcare Services

FourNet collaboration solutions can deliver all mobile clinical and communications needs on one application running on a single device. All voice calls, voicemail, video, presence and instant messaging can be accessed from the same screen. scheduling and conferencing, as well as screen and document sharing are all available from one single interface.

Recent years have seen cyber security attacks increasing exponentially. Protecting your sensitive patient data and ensuring your network, infrastructure, and applications can keep running securely has never been so critical.
FourNet's security solutions incorporate access and endpoint security, secure networking, cloud security, network operations and security operations into one common operating system and management framework. Our managed security services offer centralised management, deep analytics and automated remediation to keep your network, infrastructure and applications secure.

Healthcare organisations need to support an agile workforce for both geographically dispersed bodies and large complex estates where everyone is in the same place. Our infrastructure portfolio incorporates wired and wireless LAN, multiple WAN technologies including direct internet access, MPLS and SD-WAN and security managed services from our strategic partner and Gartner Magic Quadrant leader, Fortinet. We deliver one interface and one single port of call for all your security requirements from infrastructure to applications.

FourNet's Community Cloud platform supports the new Integrated Care Systems, offering a shared communications and contact centre platform to everyone involved in delivering patient care: Acute and Mental Health Trusts, GP surgeries, local authorities, and other partners. This shared technology removes the barriers to collaborating and enables the sharing of scarce resources and services. A Community Cloud solution enables greater integration while reducing costs for individual organisations.

The challenges of the pandemic have placed even further stress on an already stretched healthcare service. FourNet's Work Force Engagement solutions utilise the latest AI-powered technologies, such as speech analytics to help management identify and support vulnerable administrative employees. Whether this is 999 call handlers or patient-facing administrative employees our solutions can

Healthcare organisations must plan for and respond to a wide range of incidents and emergencies that could affect health or patient care. FourNet's Disaster Recovery solutions help deliver emergency preparedness, resilience, and response (EPRR) plans, ensure business continuity and reduce the risk of impacting patient care in the event of a disaster: whether this is site unavailability or a malicious cyberattack.

Our solutions offer the highest levels of resilience and redundancy, guaranteeing 99.999% availability of service.

In recent years, Healthcare providers have invested and introduced more mobile devices/tools to help improve services. It is now commonplace that patients can take advantage of telehealth services, helping get quicker access and diagnosis from clinicians over a portable device.

One of the significant challenges around this is the threat to patient data. Mobile devices carry an inherent risk and, if not protected or misused, can lead to lost, stolen or compromised patient records. Outside of these risks, there is also the increased risk of installing malware that can compromise systems and confidential data.

The UK government states that it is "developing a robust, world-leading regulatory regime for medical devices that prioritises patient safety" and "will take into consideration international standards and global harmonisation in the development of our future system". This commitment will be bolstered through the powers created in the Medicines and Medical Devices Bill.

The use and deployment of medical devices connected to the network are proliferating, and with that comes an increase in security threats. However, whilst security regulations around these devices are changing, for many years, the compliance requirements around these did not reflect the technological evolution.

Whether it's X-Ray machines, Life support systems, or Monitoring equipment, if these are connected to the network, they are exposed to any threats entering the network and are at risk of being compromised and exploited.

To give a real-world example of the risks around connected devices, a Fisher price toy 'Smart Bear' was found to have several security flaws that could allow attackers to steal a child's name, birthday and gender and other data.

This took place over six years ago, and the complexity and intelligence around cyber-attacks now are massively different.

Imagine that same scenario if an attacker could hi-jack and control a ventilator in ICU.

"We're keen to change the understanding of cyber from a technology to a patient care issue" Phil Huggins CISO for the Department of Health and Social Care

I think most reading this would agree that the health service has been underfunded for many years, which means that budgetary decisions have been on perceived priorities in care.

However, it is only recently that the focus on Cyber security has grown, which has seen this rise in priority on the board room agenda. How cybersecurity is perceived is also changing. With an incident potentially impacting patient wellbeing, there is a movement to realign this as 'patient and clinical security, which changes the perception and dynamic when fighting for the budget.

The resource pressures on IT teams and lack of investment also manifest themselves in other areas. Another major challenge is older legacy systems and devices that expose the organisation to significant risk. If these cannot be patched/protected, they should be replaced, but many budgetary constraints and a lack of security awareness have seen these changes put off.

Staffing and resourcing are also a challenge. With the continuing complexity of systems and technologies, the skillsets often needed to plan, deliver, and support robust cyber practices are not there. Whilst organisations do all they can, with what they have, this still leaves many exposed to outside threats.

According to leading research firm MarketsandMarkets, 48 percent of medical devices are connected through IoT, which is expected to rise to 68 percent in the next five years.
With hardware and software applications within the NHS, including Appointment Management, Patient Administration, and Laboratory Information Management Systems now utilising advanced analytics and AI, driving efficiency and change needs a connected healthcare environment.

Many healthcare providers are not prepared to interpret and process the vast amount of data that new systems can deliver. Whether its clinical, patient or device data, many lack the appropriate infrastructure to manage and utilise data collected from multiple sources.

The lack of agreed standards for digital health systems and the lack of interoperability and standards between systems and services presents a challenge for healthcare. With interoperability, providers can gain key insights and efficiency improvement, which can impact patient care.

With the health sector holding personal information, the risks from cybercriminals and state-sponsored cyber-attacks are ever-increasing. However, whilst Patient Security is high on the board's agenda, a lack of understanding, resources and budget can be a prohibitive factor in designing and implementing effective security strategies.