Summary:
The Internet of Things (IoT) is revolutionizing healthcare. From remote patient monitoring to early disease detection and chronic disease management, IoT offers a wide range of benefits for both patients and providers. This blog explores five ways IoT is used in healthcare today, including telemedicine and smart device monitoring.
The Internet of Things (IoT) is reshaping how providers deliver healthcare solutions. It’s also revolutionizing how patients get care, from preventative steps like symptom and condition monitoring to appointment scheduling and remote care.
The COVID-19 pandemic acted as an incubator for IoT applications in the healthcare industry, but the trends we see now like widespread telemedicine started long before COVID. To be sure, the future of IoT in healthcare is bright.
The future temporarily aside, here are five ways IoT is used right now in the healthcare industry.
If you’re a provider and you’re not taking advantage of them, you should be aware that you stand to provide superior care, operate more efficiently, and more, by implementing these and other IoT applications.
1. Remote Patient Monitoring
Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) is defined by the Centers for Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services as the “Use of digital technologies to collect health data from patients in one location and electronically transmit that information securely to providers in a different location”.
There are a number of benefits of RPM, including:
- The ability of providers to treat patients from anywhere they are licensed to offer care.
- Allowing providers to take on more patients as their schedules allow.
RPM also enables providers to more easily treat the roughly 3.6 million home-bound patients over the age of 65 in the United States, giving providers more accurate (and often constant) data about a patient’s condition.
See how we helped Communicare Health Services design a custom IoT application to help older adults age in place.
2. Prevention & Early Detection
IoT devices can be used to monitor symptoms of known conditions including degenerative diseases, but they can also be used proactively before major health issues develop.
One patient with heart issues might wear a smart ECG monitor to detect AFib before it becomes problematic. Another patient with a family history of breast cancer might wear a smart monitor with thermal sensors to detect any abnormal heat patterns that could indicate the presence of cancer.
The bottom line is that wearable devices and smart sensors can be used to monitor a patient’s key health indicators. In turn, the data gathered offers actionable insights into their overall health and well-being.
By analyzing the data sent by these IoT devices, providers often can identify potential health risks and intervene before they develop into more serious conditions.
3. Chronic Disease Management
From respiratory diseases like asthma to neurological diseases like Parkinson’s to sleep disorders like sleep apnea, there are a number of chronic diseases that can be more efficiently (and regularly) managed with the help of IoT devices.
While the mechanisms these devices use to collect and submit data are similar to those used with prevention, the use case is different. Importantly, the results are no less impactful for patients and providers alike.
4. Telemedicine
Telemedicine is about so much more than just virtual visits. When it comes to using IoT in the healthcare industry, it’s probably one of the most common use cases, by the numbers.
Comparatively few people have a chronic condition, but most people will require some type of medical care over the course of a given year. That could mean a routine check-up with a GP, an urgent-care appointment for cold or flu-like symptoms, or regular mental health care.
All of this – and more – can be done with the help of telemedicine, which in turn is fueled by connected devices.
Depending on the industry and the need for treatment, both provider and patient may be able to connect with one another virtually, without either having to step into an office.
This often allows for the treatment of patients in remote or rural areas. It also reduces the burden on healthcare facilities without providing a reduction in the quality of care in most use cases that are well suited for this type of care.
See how we worked with Vigilant to use advanced machine learning to capture, define, and structure images from patient monitors in the OR, translating patient vitals – with 99.9% accuracy – directly to a caregiver’s handheld mobile device screen.
5. Smart Device Monitoring
There is some overlap between remote patient monitoring and smart device monitoring, as many connected medical devices are used to provide treatment. But there’s also more that goes into managing care than just monitoring symptoms or conducting virtual visits with connected IoT devices.
Medication pickup and delivery and the security challenges it presents, especially to homebound seniors, is one example.
IoT technology can be used to make any device “smart”, and that’s exactly what we did when we worked with BoxLock to design and build their native mobile apps for iOS and Android, admin app, and back-end infrastructure. This enabled BoxLock to “stop porch pirates” from stealing medications and other expensive medical devices from vulnerable patients.
Explore Digital Scientists’ IoT Healthcare Solutions
Curious to see some of the ways you could integrate IoT technology into your healthcare establishment to provide better-quality care, operate more efficiently, or implement new and creative solutions to existing issues?
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