Technology has completely changed the way businesses run and operate. The application of IoT (Internet of Things) to organizations’ processes and utilities has expanded their impact and use cases, offering better treatment. When applied to the healthcare industry, IoT (Internet of Things) becomes IoMT (Internet of Medical Things). Usually, the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) goes beyond wearable devices or even analytical systems. IoMT is an entire ecosystem that gathers data and analyses in a quick, accurate, and real-time process. It offers healthcare institutions and professionals valuable information which can enhance patients’ treatment, lives, and business synergies.
The Internet of Things (IoT) is changing the healthcare industry in a way no one has ever imagined. IoT-powered devices and sensors have let both healthcare professionals and patients monitor critical health parameters in real-time, allowing for a customized treatment plan pf care for chronic health issues such as heart disease and diabetes.
According to the latest report, the global IoT healthcare industry is likely to grow almost 30% with a CAGR (Compounded Annual Growth Rate) to reach $323 billion by the year 2025. Now, these numbers can certainly be attributed to the fact that this cutting-edge technology has enormous potential to change healthcare efficiencies and operations, including patient care and operational processes.
Albeit, IoT in the healthcare industry is still at a developing level, and has its fair share of obstacles to overcome, it certainly is transforming the healthcare industry in so many ways already.
Here are a few examples of how IoT is helping the healthcare industry.
Patient Engagement
You might already be familiar with Siri and Alexa. These virtual assistants are extremely common in our everyday lives. Now, the same kind of technology is conversation-based assistance. Its utilizing Artificial Intelligence is also deployed in the healthcare industry for improving patient engagement. There are a various healthtech software developer(s) and companies. That design and develop HIPAA compliant virtual assistants.
These virtual assistants are utilized to specifically engage patients who are suffering from chronic illnesses. The virtual assistants can be integrated with several wearable devices and smart home technologies. To provide patients the necessary support and resources as and why needed. This lets healthcare providers monitor patients’ health remotely. And facilitate better communication in case of early intervention is needed.
Real-time data access and analytics
Healthcare institutions are utilizing scores of connected devices to get a decent input of data from several devices and other sources. Healthcare professionals process and analyze this raw data in real-time so that they can make instant decisions based on patients’ medical histories. This will turn the patient care process as it could result in the early diagnosis of several health issues.
Smart Medicines
The very first FDA-approved smart pill, Abilify, was introduced in November 2017. Just like regular pills, these smart pills can be taken normally. But the catch here is that these smart pills are equipped with cutting-edge technology that monitors the patient’s health and shares data with sensors that are worn by the patient on the body. Now, these sensors are utilized to keep track of the levels of numerous content in the body based on the patient’s health condition.
The shared information will be displayed on the application, providing healthcare professionals and patients all the necessary information regarding the health condition of the patient. This kind of technology could be utilized to check whether the smart pill is causing any negative effects or is working just fine for the patient. In addition, it can be utilized to ensure that the patient is taking medicines on time and in proper dosage.
Virtual Monitoring
Ever since the Internet of Things (IoT) was introduced, various healthcare institutions were able to successfully monitor their patients’ health. For example, hospital beds are now equipped with heart rate and respiratory sensors using Artificial Intelligence technology. The patient’s vitals can be closely monitored with the help of these sensors. The nurses can be immediately alerted wherever sensors show the change in vitals.
Inventory Tracking
Healthcare professionals and organizations utilize a variety of medical devices. Especially, in huge healthcare institutions, keeping a track of these medical devices and inventory is one complicated task. IoT makes this whole process a lot easier with RFID and RTLS technologies. Both these cutting-edge technologies will be able to assist in marking the inventory and manage medical equipment via location sensors.
There are some advanced systems that can assist in alerting the employees about devices. That are about to expire, contamination, or even utilization of a wrong device. This will greatly reduce the risk and improve the patient care quality. That in turn will improve hospital or healthcare organization efficiency as the employees likely spend less time in locating the necessary devices and equipment.
IoT – What lies ahead for Healthcare Industry?
From the above points, it is pretty clear that the IoT will be ruling the healthcare industry in the future. Given the pandemic that is going on, several healthcare organizations are already focusing on IoT-based smart healthcare solutions. If the healthcare industry keeps this up, very soon, patient care and the healthcare industry are going to witness a complete transformation.
