Time Synchronization: Why It’s Crucial In The Healthcare Industry

Time synchronization is critical in all industries, but especially the healthcare industry. This is because medical professionals rely on synchronized timeservers to ensure medication is taken correctly and that patients are brought to operating rooms at the correct time.

Precision Time Protocol, or PTP, was originally standardized in 2002 and is used to synchronize clocks in a network. Here are a few reasons why time synchronization in the medical field is essential for proper hospital operation.

Efficient scheduling of medical staff
A time server is essential for scheduling medical staff properly and efficiently. Proper staff scheduling is important because patients who are forced to wait for their appointments in a hospital can suffer injurious or even fatal consequences.

When a hospital uses a time server with accurate synchronization, doctors and nurses can correctly clock their time. This tells the next doctor and nurse on shift when they should clock in to take over.

Accurate administration of medication
Specific medications need to be distributed and taken at specific times. When a patient’s medication is administered improperly, it can cause the medication to fail to work. This can lead to dangerous consequences.

That being said, an accurately synchronized time clock server is crucial for daily medical staff. Accurate timestamps tell nurses when a patient should take their medication, when the patient should stop taking medication, and when they last received an IV.

The surgical process
Time synchronization on a network clock is absolutely essential during surgical procedures for two reasons. The surgeon needs to know when the surgery is to take place and how long the procedure has taken.

The hospital’s anesthesiologist depends on accurate timestamps. Should the time be off, the procedure could go on for longer than expected and complications may results. What’s more, insurance companies rely on accurate timestamps to ensure accurate payments are made and that there are no discrepancies.

A time server is essential in for many businesses and industries. However, it’s absolutely critical for time to be synchronized in the healthcare industry where patient lives are on the line. For more information on network time servers and how they can benefit your business or organization, contact Time Machines today.