Dental Clinic Wi-Fi Security: is your Wi-Fi really separate?

Does a guest Wi-Fi network keep patients out?

Often it doesn’t. A home style router can show two Wi-Fi names, but behind both names there is often one shared network. A patient on the guest Wi-Fi can then sit on the same network as the front desk PC, the x-ray sensors and the server with your patient files.

Why does a shared network matter for a clinic?

A shared network puts patient records, imaging devices and guest phones side by side. That makes privacy hard to show to an insurer, lets ransomware spread from one infected phone to the server, and leaves rarely updated devices like sensors and printers exposed. Separate networks keep each problem in its own room.

• Patient privacy. Patient records should only be reachable by your team. A shared network makes that hard to show your insurer or a privacy review.
• Ransomware spreads. If one phone or laptop is infected, a flat network lets it reach every other computer, the sensors and the server.
• Devices are easy targets. Imaging equipment and printers are rarely updated. They should not sit next to guest phones.

What we set up in every clinic we look after

• Walled off networks (VLANs). Think of separate rooms with locked doors. Staff, guests and devices each get their own network.
• Managed switches. The boxes your network cables plug into. Ours keep each room apart and can be watched and updated.
• A business firewall. Not a home router. It guards the door to the internet and the doors between rooms.
• Guest Wi-Fi gets internet only. Patients can browse while they wait, and that is all.

Not sure how your clinic is set up?

We check this during an IT review at clinics in Vancouver, Edmonton and Calgary. You will get a plain answer: separate or shared, and what it would take to fix. The fix is usually a business firewall, managed switches and VLANs, so each kind of device gets its own network.