The Internet of Things has successfully become a part of all aspects of life. It is playing an essential role in several sectors today, especially healthcare. IoT in Healthcare has helped in overcoming several challenges that are confronted by the healthcare sector.
These challenges are seen in the form of proper monitoring of patients post their surgery or the detection of disease and timely detection of the issues so that they can be rectified before it’s too late.
Healthcare IoT can be used in many ways for patients, hospitals, physicians, and even health insurance companies. Patients can use IoT devices like a fitness band or other wearable devices that can monitor their heart rate, blood pressure, glucose, and much more.
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These devices have changed the lives of people because they can monitor their health without putting in too many efforts. Similarly, physicians can also track their patients and see if they are adhering to the given treatment. In case of any discrepancies, they can take immediate action.
Moreover, hospitals can also improve their services by having real-time tracking of the location of several medical types of equipment like oxygen pumps, wheelchairs, nebulizers, etc. Finally, insurance companies can also leverage the data collected through such wearable devices and use them to detect fraudulent claims.
Overall, these devices have immense potential to help various aspects of the healthcare sector and make it more efficient in the long run.
Reasons why IoT works well in the healthcare sector
The increase in the number of Internet of Things and the interconnectedness of various devices has brought about many opportunities in healthcare IoT. Moreover, the data generated through these devices has immense potential to transform how the healthcare sector works.
Several devices, including sensors, detectors, actuators, camera systems, monitors, etc. are deployed and connected to collect authentic first-hand data. This data is converted into a digital form before processing it.
Finally, the data is analyzed and managed to ensure an effective treatment process. It can also be used to monitor the progress after a massive surgery or a treatment.
Some other advantages of IoT in healthcare are listed below:
1. Effective Monitoring of The Patient
The monitoring of patients becomes easier with the help of IoT devices. Thus, it helps doctors to have more evidence so that they can make more informed decisions about the treatment procedure.
It also leads to absolute transparency between the doctors and the patients. Lifestyle diseases like diabetes can be easily monitored on a regular basis and can help patients control it.
Similarly, post-surgery patients can be easily monitored with the help of such devices.
2. Management of Drugs
Patients often miss taking some of their prescribed drugs on time, and that leads to a delay in their treatment or more severe issues. With the help of connected devices, drugs can be managed smoothly and efficiently.
3. Reduction of Costs
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IoT devices not only help in real-time data monitoring but also help doctors and hospitals have easy access to this data. This reduces the cost of visits to hospitals as well as readmissions.
Moreover, the data also ensures that the treatment is going in the right direction and hence, reduces the chances of a relapse. Therefore, the overall costs associated with the healthcare system can be reduced drastically, using IoT in healthcare.
4. Quicker Diagnosis
Real-time data collection continuously helps doctors in understanding the symptoms of patients and hence, can help them successfully diagnose the disease quickly. This helps in starting the treatment sooner and improves the chances of getting cured.
5. Proactive Treatment Process
Thanks to the real-time data collection that is offered by healthcare IoT devices, there is a possibility to continuously monitor the progress of a patient and be proactive in the treatment. In case of small discrepancies, doctors can address the issues at the earliest so that active action can be taken on time.
Successful applications of the Internet of Things in healthcare
Some IoT healthcare applications that have been at the forefront in recent years have been widely successful. They have been used in the monitoring of glucose for diabetics, monitoring cancer patients, automated insulin delivery, ingestible sensors, connected contact lenses, and much more.
Some of these applications are listed below:
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Smart Continuous Glucose Monitoring
Controlling diabetes has been one of the biggest challenges for people. Therefore, the CGM or Continuous Glucose Monitoring system is a helpful device that monitors glucose by taking regular readings of the patients.
It monitors the fluctuations of blood sugar levels in patients by taking several readings every day and regular intervals. Such devices have been a life-changer for people trying to control their diabetes.
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Automated Closed-Loop Insulin Delivery
The Open Artificial Pancreas System (OpenAPS) is based on a closed-loop delivery system for insulin. It also gauges the glucose present in a person’s bloodstream and delivers the insulin accordingly.
It is a beneficial system because it not just monitors the blood sugar levels but also adjusts the dosage based on the requirement.
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Wrapping up
To sum up, it is crucial to understand that IoT in healthcare is still in its inception stage and a lot still needs to be done to make it more secure. Although monitoring real-time data brings about lots of promises when it comes to patient care, it still needs to evolve more.
These devices must implement certain security measures to ensure that the data of patients is only used to improve their health and experience with hospitals. This aspect of this new technology needs significant improvement to make sure that there is no misuse of the data.
There must be clear policies concerning the use and abuse of patient data collected through the Internet of Things. Hence, it can be said that while healthcare IoT is very promising, it can certainly do with some improvements.