How to use IoT and connected devices to move your organisation into the future

The future of healthcare is mobile, connected and data driven. Wearable devices and mobile apps can provide a flood of data on our health and daily routines, which in turn presents a huge opportunity for doctors to improve public health measures.

With an eye towards improving patient outcomes, organisations from hospitals to large health insurance companies are starting new IoMT (Internet of Medical Things) projects or upgrading existing ones with mobile technology.

What IoT can do for healthcare.

In the past, clinicians and patients alike have had to rely on less-than-optimal data sources to monitor health. For example, the readings from blood pressure devices are manually taken and tracked over a period of time to provide an overall assessment of the patient. With the capability of connecting a blood pressure device to a mobile app and transmitting the readings through a secure online platform.

The IoT connected health device accelerates the analysis of health data and facilitates secured sharing of this data between healthcare professionals and providers.

That's why we believe that IoT offers a way for healthcare providers to close this data gap by offering up new ways for clinicians and patients to receive critical information from machines and sensors—and much of it will be delivered in a timely and reliable way via automated messages that can be accessed by mobile devices.

Removing barriers to success with IoT.

While the possibilities of IoT are exciting, they come with their own set of challenges. Organisations must be prepared to deal with a wide range of issues, including:

• Trust and security. Your patients need to trust that their information is protected by you, as well as third-party entities (i.e., the makers of devices). To earn this trust, you must have clear policies for data management and privacy in place before deployment.
• Data management. How will data from devices be stored? Who has access to it? How often is it backed up? You need to develop a detailed IoT deployment plan that will handle the influx of information that comes from sensors and other connected devices used by patients.
• Integration with legacy systems is another barrier to be aware of. If your health care system relies on older technology (which many do), then you'll need to ensure your new infrastructure can integrate seamlessly with those older systems.
• Scalability and compliance. You must also ensure that your IoT implementation can scale effectively so it's able to meet patient demand without fail—and that it meets compliance requirements that apply in your area(s) of operation under regulation like HIPAA or GDPR.

IoT provides data that optimises outcomes.

By automating the process of gathering data from devices, IoT provides data that optimises outcomes.

The use of IoT health devices delivers a deeper understanding of your patients and their changing needs. However, the enormous amount of patient data IoT gathers is only useful if it is analysed. This means using technology to interpret and act on the data in real time—a process that requires both advanced analytic capabilities and domain expertise.

IoT reduces costs while improving care.

From a business perspective, the question isn’t, “Is IoT worth it?” The question is, “How can I afford to not pursue IoT?”

As an example, let’s examine how a simple pillbox can reduce costs. Imagine you have a patient who just underwent surgery and is on multiple medications. To ensure they take the right pills at the right time and in the right amounts, you could hire a nurse to visit them every day. Or you could give your patient that same pillbox with embedded sensors so they can get medication reminders and their medicine usage will be monitored remotely by software that alerts caregivers if there are problems. In this case, not only do you save money by reducing in-home nurse visits, but also by reducing hospital readmissions caused by noncompliance with medications.

Improving patient satisfaction through IoT.

You’ve probably seen people using smart watches and wearables for health monitoring. Now, think about how it would feel to be in the hospital recovering from a major surgery, with an IoT device monitoring your vital signs and keeping track of your progress towards recovery. Imagine that on top of this, you can use a tablet or smartphone to check in with your doctor or nurse any time you need to ask a question, order room service, access rehab instructions and more. Your healthcare provider will have more data than ever before at their fingertips; they’ll be able to monitor you remotely and take action when needed. The result is fewer complications during surgery and recovery, improved patient satisfaction and lower costs for providers and insurers.

That’s just one example of how IoT devices are being used today—and as the healthcare industry grows more comfortable with the technology, we expect this kind of information exchange will become commonplace in hospitals everywhere.

By putting connected devices into the hands of patients and clinicians, you can provide better patient outcomes, improved interactions and cost savings.

With the help of IoT, providers can improve outcomes for patients by providing an array of options from each interaction. From a patient's perspective, that means a newer, more capable and engaging experience. From the organisation’s viewpoint, it means better care.

In the context of health care, IoT is all about creating value for the patient and for the organisation. That's why we should look at IoT as an investment in health care: It gives us greater control over our resource allocation and gives us new opportunities to create a seamless experience for patients.

With the ever-growing number of IoT devices and new wearable smart devices being developed, healthcare organisations are able to explore new ways to improve the quality of life for their patients. If you're working in healthcare and want to understand the basics of how wearables, IoT & Apps can help your organization - this is the course for you. More details here- www.cenhealthacademy.com