5 Ways IoT is Redefining the Healthcare Industry

The advanced technological capabilities of the IoT have strongly impacted a host of industry verticals and among them, the healthcare industry has benefited the most.

IoMT or Internet of Medical Things has redrawn the boundaries of healthcare by delivering robust solutions that help patients and healthcare providers to undertake better-informed decisions. In fact, Deloitte claims that the IoMT market will touch $158.1 billion in 2022.

In this article, we discuss 5 best ways in which IoT is transforming the healthcare industry.

1. Personalized Healthcare

Earlier, personal healthcare was confined to checking body temperature and blood pressure. Now, with wearables like fitness bands, smartwatches and smart rings that have in-built IoT sensors, people can track their heart rate, brain activity, calorie intake, sleeping patterns, etc. 

Also, combining IoT with mHealth apps can bring out valuable insights into one’s health and well-being.

2. Remote Patient Monitoring

IoT-powered smart medical devices like Continuous Glucose Monitors, Smart Insulin Pens, ECG/EMG sensors, etc. aid health professionals to remotely monitor patients in real-time, regardless of location.

This helps in analyzing the patient’s  health variations and accordingly, doctors can suggest best remedial treatment. Also, patients can avoid unnecessary hospital visits, thereby saving time and money.

3. Preventive Healthcare

Researching and analyzing the data collected by connected medical devices help in quickly diagnosing underlying illnesses of a patient even before symptoms surface. 

Also, real-time health monitoring of elderly and chronically ill patients can ultimately save their lives during medical emergencies as alerts will be sent to healthcare providers and family members.

4. Electronic Record-keeping

With IoMT, data collection, analysis and retrieval is quite easy through Electronic Healthcare Records system or EHR. A patient’s vitals and other health data are collected from interconnected devices, digitized and finally stored on the cloud. 

This helps doctors and patients to easily access and share information like disease history and latest tests, thus eliminating the need of maintaining bundles of medical reports.

5. Efficient Hospital Management

The concept of ‘Smart hospital’ has been realized by IoT technology as it automates administrative and other manual tasks, thereby reducing costs and improving the overall productivity of hospital staff.

Some of these include maintenance and assessment of medical records, scheduling doctor appointments, drug inventory management, medical asset monitoring, bed occupancy tracking, etc.

Conclusion

As we have seen, IoMT maximizes treatment outcomes and minimizes costs and human effort, and has the potential to drastically change our outlook towards healthcare in the future.

And, the best IoT app development company can help unleash the true potential of your healthcare business by building world-class IoT solutions.