Smart hospitals go beyond digital: Cleveland Clinic will deploy Verizon’s private 5G network at its new Mentor, Ohio hospital. Here’s why it’s a model for the hospital of the future.

Go deeper: Check out our “How 5G Will Change Healthcare” report to learn more about key areas of growth for 5G in healthcare.

The Connected Care Pilot Program is designed to provide up to $100 million over a three-year period to help provider organizations implement the infrastructure necessary to extend telehealth services and RPM to underserved populations and rural areas. 5G Networks. For providers and researchers, growing 5G network coverage and adoption will help improve their access to up-to-the-minute data:.

In fact, many (28%) US and UK-based adults don’t intend to upgrade their networks to 5G over the next year—simply because they’re “not interested” in 5G technology, per a January 2022 survey by YouGov. To learn more about Meta’s plan to take on the metaverse, check out our Connectivity & Tech briefing article from 2/22 here. What’s next?

But establishing 5G speeds across the US will take time. Many (28%) US and UK-based adults don’t intend to upgrade their networks to 5G over the next year. And that’s simply because they’re “not interested” in 5G technology, per a January 2022 survey by YouGov.

Tech like 5G and AI will likely come into greater focus to facilitate this vision for quicker, consumer-centric, personalized healthcare—and some companies are getting ahead on both fronts. For example, over three-quarters of health tech execs say they’re very or somewhat likely to implement 5G for telehealth (78%) and remote patient monitoring (75%) within 2 years, per a November 2020 Verizon survey.

Adoption of robotic surgery will also increase, bringing attention to safety concerns. 66% of providers say they’re very or somewhat likely to implement robotic technology in high-precision procedures and surgeries in the next two years, particularly as a 5G use case, according to Verizon’s 2021 5G Business Report. What’s next? Nvidia will make its IGX Orin developer kits available in early 2023.

The opportunity: Healthcare executives see robotic surgery as a legitimate way to digitally transform operating rooms. 66% of providers say they’re very or somewhat likely to implement robotic technology in high-precision procedures and surgeries in the next two years, particularly as a 5G use case, according to Verizon’s 2021 5G Business Report.

That means it’s just as functional in a major health system as it is in a rural or low-resource hospital (where 5G or fast connectivity may not be as accessible). Low connectivity often prevents some rural physicians from deploying telehealth—especially in time-sensitive situations like surgery. Are health systems interested in AR surgery, though? In short, Yes.

This can be accomplished with low-latency networks such as 5G, a powerful cloud-computing component supported by efficient and sustainable data centers, and more powerful hardware in VR goggles and terminals. Various components make up an AR/VR ecosystem, and they need to work in concert to enable a seamless suspension of disbelief that one is immersed in another world.

Google announced in June 2022 that it will offer private 5G networks for large enterprises, another product to improve internet capacity. In this case, the added capacity is local and boosts the potential for smart office and factory applications via edge computing tied into Google Cloud. In the US, Alphabet has focused on spurring competition in broadband connectivity.