IoT is driving the development of innovative solutions so hospitals can focus more on patient care and less on the equipment that supports that care. So, what’s to come?
The boom in Internet of Things devices and sensors shows no signs of abating. Even with a global chip shortage, analysts predict that there will be more than 14 billion IoT sensors by the end of 2022, growing to 27 billion in 2025.
Such is the deployment and mainstream acceptance of IoT that it would be easier to list those sectors that aren’t investing in networks of sensors and connected devices. Healthcare is no exception.
IoT in healthcare covers a huge range of applications. From wearables capable of monitoring patients in and out of care settings to measuring production machinery (whether for personal protective equipment, vaccines, or anything in between), as our blog notes, IoT is becoming increasingly common in a variety of health-related environments.
Even the most innocuous of equipment can be connected, including:
All of these can not only gather data but allow a greater number of patients to be monitored by specialist staff, with proactive interventions available at a greater scale. So, a consultant could receive live updates on patients in several wards, with a direct line to the ward staff to support ongoing care, without needing to be there in person. In doing so, patients receive the same level of treatment without adding to the workload of increasingly stretched staff.
IoT has a critical role in automating processes that could fail when they depend on humans alone. The key focus is on relieving the burden on healthcare staff, freeing them to focus on treatment and care.
For instance, deploying IoT sensors could support:
IoT puts the word “care” back into patient care, rather than healthcare professionals wasting attention and “care” on other operational aspects outside of their hired skill set. It’s about helping healthcare providers keep capital costs low, allocate resources appropriately, provide patient care promptly, and ensure facilities, whether hospitals, clinics, or surgery, are operating effectively.
And that’s before we consider the range of devices available directly to consumers that help monitor health signals. The barriers to entry (typically price) have dropped as more and more businesses enter the market, all of whom have existing relationships with the general public. Everyone from Apple to Google is developing and launching smart devices that can measure human vital signs like a heartbeat, blood pressure, breathing rates, and temperature– all in real-time.
The result is patients no longer must search online or make unscheduled doctor visits if something doesn’t feel right. Backend analysis, built into mobile apps, helps monitor patients’ health. While it isn’t commonplace yet, we’re rapidly reaching a point where people will be able to alert their doctor immediately if something isn’t right, without even consciously knowing it. Their wearable can tell their phone to alert their local healthcare provider to what’s wrong.
It might seem like the link between a sensor on a hospital bed and an Apple Watch is tenuous at best, but what both are doing is contributing to the more effective use of resources to, ultimately, deliver better, more proactive care and treatment to patients. In doing so, healthcare providers can make the best use of their resources, and more people can either prevent themselves from falling ill or recover faster when they do so.
