How the Healthcare Industry Can Benefit from the IoT and IT

There are a variety of industries that can take advantage of the developments in the IoT and progress with IT. In this post, we will explore how the healthcare industry can benefit from these solutions. 

The healthcare industry (aka medical industry or health economy) is the collection and mixture of sectors that provide goods and services to treat patients with curative, preventive, rehabilitative, and palliative care. The industry includes the creation and commercialization of goods and services that provide themselves to maintaining and re-establishing health. The modern healthcare industry is divided into many sectors and depend on the interdisciplinary teams of trained professionals and paraprofessionals to meet the health needs of individuals and populations. 

The healthcare industry is one of the largest and fastest growing industries. The industry consumes over 10% of the GDP in most developed nations - healthcare can form a massive part of a country's economy. 

Sometimes, the best way for an organization to look into IT services/learn about technology trends is through an MSP. 

Here is a little background of the Internet of Things (IoT). 

Most IoT smart devices aren't just for your house or phone. They are also located in factories, businesses, and healthcare. 

These smart devices give industries the vital data they need to track inventory, manage machines, increase efficiency, lower costs, and save lives. By the year 2025, the global worth of IoT technology could be as much as $6.3 trillion USD. Most of that value will come from devices in the healthcare industry ($2.5 trillion USD). 

As of right now, 30.3% of the devices in the healthcare industry use IoT. These devices can be found in:

• Portable health monitoring
• Electronic recordkeeping
• Pharmaceutical safeguards

Also, the healthcare industry is leading the way with IoT, the industry has 55% robust deployments in place. This includes:

• Audio devices
• Mobile phones
• Employee and facilities monitoring
• Enhance customer experiences
• Visual analytics

So, with listing all of the things that the IoT can do for the healthcare industry, what exactly are the benefits? 

Healthcare services are costlier than ever, the population is aging, and chronic diseases are rising. Below are 6 benefits to this technology. 

1. Simultaneous reporting and monitoring
2. End-to-end connectivity and affordability
3. Data assortment and analysis
4. Tracking and alerts
5. Remote medical assistance
6. Research

With all of these benefits, it is easy to see that using a technology-based method could improve the quality and efficiency of treatments and improve the help of patients. 

As for having IT in the healthcare industry, the healthcare industry has been a bit slower to jump on board.

When you think of how many healthcare facilities that a patient might visit (ex, doctor's office, pharmacy, hospital, counselling, etc.) anything that they can do to modernize and improve patient care is a step in the right direction. 

Here are some ways that IT can improve the quality of healthcare.

1. Health records could become more accessible
2. Critical processes could be streamlined
3. Data collection could be more accurate
4. Achieve patient engagement and experience
5. Achieve digital health
6. Use of AI and data visualization
7. Rising importance of population health management
8. Provide total care management
9. Computer systems or software exchange and make use of information
10. EHR optimization
11. Value-based care
12. Virtual care 
13. Utilizing the cloud
14. Use clinical decision support and real-world evidence
15. Protect health information and data security

If you have any questions or comments about how the IoT and IT can benefit the healthcare industry, feel free to use the section below!

Sources:

Bazzoli, Fred. (2018). 12 trends that will dominate healthcare IT in 2019. Retrieved July 8, 2019 from, https://www.healthdatamanagement.com/list/12-trends-that-will-dominate-healthcare-it-in-2019

Byers, Chriss. (2017). The Growing Importance of IT in Healthcare. Retrieved July 8, 2019 from, https://mytechdecisions.com/it-infrastructure/growing-importance-healthcare/

Forbes. (2018). How IoT Is Impacting 7 Key Industries Today. Retrieved July 8, 2019 from, https://www.forbes.com/sites/insights-inteliot/2018/08/24/how-iot-is-impacting-7-key-industries-today/#4130ab381a84

Intel. (2018). A Guide to the Internet of Things. Retrieved July 8, 2019 from, https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/internet-of-things/infographics/guide-to-iot.html

peerbits. (2019). Internet of things in healthcare: applications, benefits, and challenges. Retrieved July 8, 2019 from, https://www.peerbits.com/blog/internet-of-things-healthcare-applications-benefits-and-challenges.html