What Is the Role of IoT in Healthcare?

Let us first understand what we mean by IoT. It is basically a connectivity between various objects and devices to exchange data with one another. Before the Internet of Things (IoT) came along, professionals in healthcare such as doctors or nurses were limited to in-person visits, text, and tele communications. Doctors had no other way of tracking the health of a patient and giving suggestions. The advent of IoT devices has redefined the healthcare industry completely. It has not only made remote monitoring possible, but has also allowed healthcare professionals to transcend their treatment and caring services. Overall, it has helped in creating a safe and secure environment that has made the job of professionals a lot smoother.

In this blog, let us study IoT in the field of healthcare domain and understand its significance. Let us start our discussion by understanding IoT first.

What is IoT?

IoT is basically a network that is created by interconnecting various devices with another to facilitate sharing of data over the cloud. In an IoT ecosystem, you can basically find devices that are connected with one another through the internet and can contain light sensors, software, mechanical and digital features, etc. Devices that can be connected in an IoT environment are quite diverse. It can include anything from simple household devices to high-powered industrial systems. IoT is one of the most exciting modern technologies that has been adopted by several industries like healthcare.

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Importance of IoT in Healthcare

There is no doubt that IoT is transforming the capabilities of the healthcare industry. It has revolutionized the space in which healthcare devices can share data. Moreover, it has also redefined the way people interact in healthcare industries and deliver needed solutions. The benefits of IoT cover all players like hospitals, patients, families, insurance companies, physicians, etc.

Physicians:

Patients can embed their health monitoring systems available at home or office with IoT to regularly update their doctors about their health. In this way, physicians can check whether the patients are following the healthcare plans well or need any immediate attention. It not only allows physicians to be more connected with their patients, but also makes the patients more proactive about their health. Leveraging 6LoPAN in IoT can enable them to connect small devices to IoT servers for real-time data and seamless communication. The data from IoT systems can also be recorded for later analysis that enable physicians to find best treatment plans and improve outcomes.

Patients:

A lot of patients might have no idea about IoT but they are well aware of fitness wearables, glucometer, heart rate and blood pressure tracking systems, etc. All these devices can be turned into IoT devices to send notifications regarding exercise check, blood pressure variations, calorie intake, appointments, etc. IoT has completely reshaped on how patients can self-treat themselves.

IoT devices are especially useful for elderly patients who need to continuously track their health. Moreover, people who live far away from their families can also monitor their health and send data back home. IoT can also configure these devices to send automatic updates to family members and concerned providers of health.

Hospitals:

Obviously, IoT devices come quite handy in tracking patient’s health in hospitals. However, apart from that, embedding sensors in IoT devices can help hospitals determine the location of defibrillators, nebulizers, oxygen pumps, wheelchairs, and other tracking equipment in real-time. Moreover, IoT chips can also be included in ID cards of medical professionals and their locations can be tracked in real-time. This helps hospitals in situations when the margin between life and death is very slim and even a slight delay is very dangerous.

Since infections are also a major concern in hospitals, IoT-driven hygiene monitoring systems also prevent patients from getting infected. Additionally, IoT devices can also be integrated with CRM systems to deliver a personalized touch to the treatment. Apart from that, IoT in healthcare can also help in temperature control, managing pharmacy inventory, asset management, environmental monitoring, etc.

Health Insurance Companies:

Smart devices connected by an IoT ecosystem opens up a world of opportunities for health insurance companies. Health insurance companies can utilize IoT data for assessing financial risks and claims. This helps them recognize prospects for underwriting or detect fraudulent claims. It ensures more transparency between consumers and insurers in aspects like risk assessment processes, pricing, claims handling, etc. Leveraging IoT-captured data allows insurance companies to take data-driven decisions and get best returns.

What Are the Advantages of Using IoT in Healthcare?

Since, you have understood IOT’s importance in healthcare, let us go through some of the advantages:

Remote Tracking: Monitoring patients in real-time via interconnected devices and smart alerts can help in diagnosis, treatment, and saving lives during emergencies. Moreover, healthcare professionals can also leverage eSIM advantages to handle medical inventory, streamline invoicing, and track vital signs of patients.

Prevention: IoT devices contain smart sensors that analyze lifestyle choices, living environment, and underlying health conditions. Based on these data, patients can get suggestions and adopt preventive measures. This can help patients avoid serious illnesses and acute states.

Minimization of Healthcare Expenses: Since, IoT in healthcare enables remote diagnosis, patients can cut down their number of visits. Moreover, hospitals can also save on storage space and materials used for storing data. IoT devices can also leverage automated systems, which significantly reduces manual intervention and human errors. Some modern hospitals also utilize robotic surgery to perform operations with reduced risk and speed. This also minimizes invasiveness and risks. All these factors contribute toward making healthcare more affordable.

Accessibility of Medical Data: IoT devices and relevant software allow patient data to be stored digitally. Since, data is stored in electronic form, it can be shared easily across multiple devices and locations. Higher accessibility of data enables healthcare providers to make correct decisions on the go and avoid complications.

Innovation in Healthcare: Based on IoT-captured data, healthcare providers can undergo analysis and spot areas where they can improve. Taking insights from this analysis, they can make informed decisions to upgrade their services and connectivity with patients. Essentially, IoT-data can let them know about the effectiveness of their assets and equipment as well as their shelf-life. Taking cue from this analysis, healthcare providers can figure out areas of innovation in their services.

Research: IoT in healthcare has increased accessibility to copious amounts of data. Ranging from personal wearables to MRI scans, IoT devices can store all data at a centralized repository. Apart from treatment, this data can also be used for research purposes. Researchers can find new ways of treatment or even find cures for rare diseases.

There are other notable advantages as well. For example, building Raspberry Pi IoT server allows hospitals to manage attendance, control sensors, monitor machinery, etc.

Conclusion

The advent of IoT devices in the healthcare industry has enhanced patient care and treatment methods. Moreover, large volumes of data generated by the interconnected devices also open up opportunities for more transformation in healthcare services. Thus, the IoT healthcare future looks to be quite promising. The write-up has explored all introductory facets related to the role of IoT in Healthcare. Essentially, it has explained what we mean by IoT, importance of IoT in the industry of healthcare, and key advantages you must know.

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