Everything in this world is subject to change. Sometimes, the alternations come naturally, and sometimes they emerge in a forced manner, as people are left with no other choice to make. Talking about the healthcare industry and the challenges it is going to face in the 2020s, one thing is known for sure - its dependency on the Internet of Things will grow exponentially.
Today's medicine requires neoteric methods and tools that can bolster the healthcare delivery processes. The IoT solutions can do it both on the patients' and the doctors' sides of the matter. In this article, we will speak about how the companies willing to achieve success in today's healthcare industry can benefit from turning to genuinely smart solutions.
Improved Medical Treatment
Regardless of how obvious it might sound, the healthcare industry's main task is to ensure high-quality patient care. With more and more patients willing to stay away from hospitals and orthodox healthcare institutions, governments worldwide will be looking for trusted IT partners. Special attention will be paid to young and bright IoT start-ups to provide them with efficient solutions that would enhance patients and personnel treatment, management, and tracking options. This is quite a generic benefit to talk about. Yet, before we cut to the chase and discuss the question from a rather practical perspective, let us first define what IoT is.
Following the digital technology definition, the Internet of Things is nothing else but a network of devices, equipped with the software and hardware required to interconnect and exchange data with the help of wireless connections. For instance, connecting your phone to a loud-speaker is an IoT thing.
While the IoT solutions remain one of the most efficient and yet cost-saving commercial projects to embark upon, let us acknowledge that today’s healthcare industry players have no other choice but to step up their digital medicine game. So, let’s have a closer look at how the healthcare industry of today can prosper from infusing itself with more IoT-based projects.
Fewer Errors
Human errors in the healthcare industry are a deadly factor, and everybody knows that. Hence, fleeing from them is what all the industry’s stakeholders are nowadays trying to do. Back in 2020, smart hospitals emerged as an attempt to refine bio-telemetry, drug management, and connected rehabilitation. It was an avid attempt by the healthcare ministries to withstand the pressure brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet, we will talk about COVID-19 and how its impact can be alleviated with the help of IoT in our next article.
The smart hospitals’ incentive has paid off. It was with the help of wearables and mobile devices doctors could keep real-time track of their patient’s vitals to prevent condition aggravation or even manage individual drug prescription plans more effectively. The IoT pushes telemedicine forward allowing for a more accurate collection of data, which sets the right ground for omitting mistakes and preventing emergencies that used to be a common thing in the healthcare industry.
Digital Medicine Decreases Cost
Have you ever wondered how much taxpayers’ money it costs to send a doctor to your house? Nowadays, governments worldwide are looking for ways of reducing healthcare expenditures by rendering the system more efficient and independent. Remote patient monitoring coupled with the aforementioned improved data and drug management systems will help cut down the need for actual contact between doctors and patients.
Outpatient care will become the key trend in the 2020s as the benefits of technology in medicine are becoming so expansive that soon enough hospitals will only have to deal with emergency cases. The companies providing the healthcare industry with the technologies required for establishing efficient outpatient care and reducing the in-house patient load will surely experience success. Overtaking the role of an intermediary between vendors and customers in one of the biggest industries in the world envisions no other perspective.
Improved Records and Tracking
You need to know that the healthcare industry is as much dependent on its managerial aspect as on the very medical one. Hence, those offering the best personnel, inventory, and patients tracking solutions, get your bank accounts ready because hospitals are coming for you. For example, IoT devices and systems can wipe out a good deal of hospital staffing issues by automating the shift scheduling process. For example, a neoteric HRM system can track the number of patients admitted for treatment and thus calculate the number of personnel members required during the next shift.
When it comes to saving people's lives, even the slightest misunderstanding in hospital asset management can lead to a tragedy. For example, imagine an infusion pump missing from an emergency unit when an accident victim is on the table. The IoT solutions brought about to medical institutions will help keep an automated track of the inventory that is available, out of order, or requires maintenance.
What is more, the hospitals' security issue can also be mitigated with the help of automated admission systems preventing any case of unauthorized access. Even the staff performance can be measured with the help of the Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) transmitters embedded in the personnel's wristbands or ID cards. Those tiny chips can help an institution's management track staff members' activity and movement, thus controlling their adherence to the in-house rules. By the way, the location of requested equipment can also be tracked with this technology's help.
Stability
Plunging deep into digital healthcare is the right thing to do when you’re looking for a market niche to invest in. The development dynamics of IoT technologies in healthcare is marvelous. Back in 2020, there were 26.6 billion activated IoT devices registered in the world. Meanwhile, we expect over 75 billion of them, improving the quality of people’s lives by 2025. By the way, more than 30% of those devices are actively used, namely in the healthcare industry. Remote healthcare opportunities brought about by the IoT are leaving no chance to any disruptors aiming to stop digital healthcare development.
As a matter of fact, there are three major groups of IoT devices used in healthcare institutions today.
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External Wearables
Those devices are represented with the biosensors worn by patients to track their physiological data in most cases. The wireless communication technology helps doctors detect any deviations in the patients’ vitals in real-time mode. Wristbands, smartwatches, etc., can be named here.
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Implanted Devices
Thankfully, we are living in an epoch when technology can replace biological tissues and help people live. Cardio-stimulators, implantable infusion pumps, drug intake devices, glucose monitors, and other gadgets can be mentioned here.
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Stationary Devices
This is one of the broadest IoT devices categories as it includes any kind of medical equipment you can only think of, including surgical devices, lab tests equipment, MRI machines, etc.
Flexibility
Another important thing one needs to understand is that the IoT sector brings you immense technological flexibility when looking for project development opportunities. You can choose among a myriad of technologies to be applied for implementing the solutions you require for moving your business forward. JavaScript, Python, Java, Ruby, etc. are all there at your disposal to create platforms that will amaze your clients, thus helping you to win the race of competitive advantages.
Nowadays, even solar energy power plants are being managed with the help of IoT. This is an immense world of opportunities where your only task is to choose the one you would like to make use of.
Conclusion
It takes not much prowess to see that the healthcare industry's future is directly dependent on the IoT. 2020 has thrown a new challenge at humanity, the one we have never faced before, showing that we have to change our healthcare approach. As a matter of fact, the transformation has already begun. It seems like shortly only emergency cases will be served by ambulances. Meanwhile, lots of diseases would be diagnosed and monitored with the help of wearables tracking the patients' vitals. Thus, the healthcare industry's dependency on the IoT will only grow as those repelling the benefits of IoT will be left outside the boat of success in a rampant ocean of competition.
