Healthcare Networks and Network-based Applications

The purpose of this report is to discuss about the network of healthcare organisations. A detailed literature review discussing the network of a healthcare organisation is provided. The architecture of a healthcare network is provided in this report. A detailed discussion of the networking devices such as routers, firewalls, switches, and servers is provided in this report. The recent developments in the network of a healthcare organisation is stated in this report. The significance of implemented security in the healthcare network is discussed. The analysis of current three major security issues to the healthcare networks is executed in report. An appropriate solution for one of the threats to the identified issues is provided. Lastly, this report concludes by providing an appropriate conclusion for this report.  

The network technology has spread to various sector of the society.  It is majorly used in the sectors of healthcare, education, finance, and gaming. The use of network technology can be beneficial for the healthcare sector as it can be used to provide better services to the patients and maintain the security of a healthcare organisation. The implementation of IoT and AI in the systems of a healthcare organisation has made the functions of the organisation more swift and efficient [1].

Healthcare network architecture

The network of a healthcare organisation commonly consists of switches, firewalls, servers, and routers. The exchange of information among various organisation is carried out using these devices [2].

Firewall: The firewall in a system is a network security measure that is used for monitoring and controlling all the outgoing and incoming network traffic on the basis of predefined protocols. It creates an effective barrier between the internal trusted network and an untrusted exterior network. The categories of firewall are host based firewalls and network firewalls. The function of network firewall is to filter the traffic among two or additional networks and execute on the hardware of the network. The firewalls that are host based executed on the host computers by controlling movement the network traffic [3].

Servers: In the sector of networking, a server is the computer program that offers functionality for several programs or clients. This specific architecture is called client-server model. A specific computation is disseminated across several devices or processes. Servers are implemented in the healthcare sector to exchange information among the various departments and manage the information efficiently. A specific server can support several clients, and an individual client can access multiple servers. Servers are an integral part of the network of a healthcare organisation. It provides the facility of effective management of patient records, monitor and store the data from the research in labs, and many other functions. Some servers are specifically designed for fulfilling the need of implementing virtualised data centres and strong physical servers. The requirement of efficient processing capability in a hospital is achieved with the help of robust servers [4].

Devices in Healthcare Networks

Routers:  The implementation of routers in a healthcare organisation is essential for effective monitoring of the movement of packets in the network. These packets can be altered in the network for performing specific functions within the network. The capabilities of routers are different and more advanced than the devices such as switches and hub. The analysis of packets in the network can be executed with the help of routers and routers can carry out any alteration that is required in the packaging of the packets [5].

Switches: A switch in a LAN connection of Ethernet base is the device that monitors the incoming packets or frames of TCP/IP data that contains the information of the destination because these packets passes through one or more than one input ports. The information of the destination residing in the packets are used for determining the output port that will be utilised for sending the data to the desired destination. The functions of switch is similar to hub with one major difference, which is the creation of tunnel by switch to secure the transfer of data among the ports. A hub connects all the nodes that are available on the network and the transmission of data is executed in a random manner with regular collision occurrence in the network. Switch creates an efficient tunnel among the destination and source ports for a specific time and maintaining barrier to prevent the access of any other traffic [6].

Cloud computing: The problems faced by the healthcare network such as huge IT costs, scalability, increased processing power, and the demand of interoperability. The current health technology is inefficient in addressing these challenges. The opportunity of cloud computing that has the ability of flexibility, multi-tenancy, and metered delivery makes the technology ideal for implementation in the healthcare organisations. Cloud computing is the innovative method of delivering the required resources and services that are essential for a healthcare organisation. The cloud architecture in the network of a healthcare organisation can be divided into two segments:

• Front end: This section of cloud architecture refers to the client level of the cloud. The front end of cloud architecture consists of applications and interfaces. The applications and interfaces are essential for accessing all the platforms of cloud computing [7].
• Back end: This refers to the majority of cloud. This part of the cloud consists of the resources residing in the cloud, which are essential for providing services of cloud computing. The back end consists of several things such as virtual machines, enormous data storage, mechanism of security, deployment models of different services, and various servers [8].

Wireless sensor networks: In the monitoring system of a hospital, it is essential to monitor the physiological parameters of the patients in real time. The most common system that are implemented in the hospitals for monitoring the health of patients are sensors. The wireless sensors gathers all the data of the body of patient using a coordinator node that is attached in the body. The data is sent to the base station. The sensors that are attached in the body of the patients forms a WBSN (Wireless Body Sensor Network) and the doctors are able to monitor the blood pressure and heart rate of the patients constantly. The technology can detect any unusual activities in the body of the patients and report these activities to the respective physicians or doctors. The system comprises of various wireless relay nodes that are accountable for transmitting the data that is sent by the coordinator node and then transmit the data to the base platform [9].

Cloud Computing and Wireless Sensor Networks in Healthcare Networks

It is becoming essential to protect the aspect of data and online information as the reliability on the technology is increasing gradually. With the growth of internet and computer networks, it is important for the organisations to maintain the integrity of data stored in the systems of the organisations. The data that is stored in the healthcare organisations consists of patients medical records and the confidential details of the patients. The security of network is major consideration while working on the LAN, internet, or any other network. as there are no network that are secured from attacks of data theft or DoS attacks, an efficient and stable network is important to protect the data of the patients. The implementation of a robust network security provides security to the data of the patients and prevents the data from getting in possession of any unauthorised user. The need of network security is essential in protecting the systems from any harmful software. The security of shared data is ensured with proper implementation of network security. The security for any network provides the necessary security measures to the data by disintegrating the data in small packets and storing in various platforms by encrypting the information and prevent the complete from falling in the possession of any malicious user at the time of cyber-attack. The threat of huge incoming traffic when a system is connected to the internet creates problems of stability that can lead to several vulnerabilities within the system. The security of network provides reliability of the network by avoiding the downtimes and lagging with the method of continuous monitoring of suspicious transactions that can damage the systems [10]. The common methods that are used to secure a network are:

• Troubleshoot, administrator and monitor the software, hardware, or several services for singe, multiple, or mixed-user evironments
• Evaluation of the programs and monitoring the networks for ensuring the availability of the system to the users
• Strategy, implement and coordinate the security measures in network, installing the security software and monitoring the networks for any kind of security breaches

Some of the common threats connected in a healthcare network are:

Data loss: This is the threat of loss of valuable data or information due to errors of humans, viruses, malware or power failure in the systems. It can also happen due to some mechanical or physical failure. However, the main reason for data loss are theft of the systems, accidental deletion, or rewriting the files, or sudden damage of hard disk. The most common method of preventing the threat of data loss is regular backup of files.

Threat of security breaches: Security breaches can result in loss of data and valuable equipments in the possession of malicious users. The data stored in the network of the healthcare organisation can be accessed by individuals with no proper authorisation. The threat of leak of data to individuals outside a hospital or health organisation by an individual with a intent of revenge is another type of security breach.

Malicious attacks: The attack that are carried out with the help of any malware such as virus or worms can damage the network of an organisation resulting in data loss or equipment loss. The virus infects the network of an organisation and creates pathway for data transfer to the users with no proper authorisation.

After the analysis of the above mentioned threats, it is recommended to place robust security measures in the network of the healthcare organisation to protect the data of the patients and the medical records. The implementation of firewall can prevent the network from getting hacked by any malicious user with intent of placing a virus in the network and procure the data. The firewall allows access to the users with proper authorisation and blocks the access of any individual outside the organisation.

Conclusion

Therefore, it can be concluded that the demand of modern technology in the network of a healthcare organisation is increasing gradually. The network technology has spread to various sector of the society.  It is majorly used in the sectors of healthcare, education, finance, and gaming. The network of a healthcare organisation commonly consists of switches, firewalls, servers, and routers. The exchange of information among various organisation is carried out using these devices. The recent developments in the healthcare networks are the introduction of cloud computing and wireless network sensors. It is becoming essential to protect the aspect of data and online information as the reliability on the technology is increasing gradually. With the growth of internet and computer networks, it is important for the organisations to maintain the integrity of data stored in the systems of the organisations. The security issues in the network of a healthcare organisation are data loss, security breaches, and threat of malicious users.

References

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