The Internet of Things has been a buzzword in today’s fast-paced world. This technology influences both the way we live and our work, especially in the healthcare industry. The IoT applications in healthcare have sharply enhanced across specific Internet of Things use cases. At the same time, it has been seen other healthcare IoT use cases are speeding and the connected healthcare reality is accelerating, even if problems remain.
Globally, more than 60% of health institutions worldwide are already implementing or looking into IoT solutions in this field. The number of patients and medical professionals using IoT-enabled devices for health monitoring is expected to grow significantly in upcoming years.
Applications of IoT in healthcare
The increasing popularity of IoT is exciting for every industry, but it has several applications in healthcare. IoT solutions help in:
- Reducing emergency room wait time
- Tracking patients, staff, and inventory
- Enhancing drug management
- Ensuring availability of critical hardware
Internet of Things has also introduced several wearable devices which have made patients’ life comfortable. Let’s know in detail about these IoT-based devices.
#1- Hearables
People who have hearing loss can use hearables – new age hearing aids – to interact with the world. Nowadays, this device is compatible with Bluetooth, which syncs your smartphone with it. Hearables allow you to filter and add layered features to real-world sounds as per your requirements. The Most popular example: Doppler Labs.
#2- Moodables
If you are looking for the best solution to improve your mood throughout the day, Moodables are the best mood-enhancing devices. These devices are head-mounted wearables that send low-intensity to the brain, which elevates users’ perspective. Even scientists are already working on it and have made significant progress.
#3 – Ingestible sensors
Ingestible sensors are genuinely a modern science wonder. Pill-sized sensors, these devices monitor the medication in our body and warn users if it detects any irregularities in their bodies. These sensors can be worship for a diabetic patient as it helps control symptoms and provide an early warning for diseases. The best example of these devices: Proteus Digital Health.
#4 – Healthcare charting
Healthcare charting is the best IoT-enabled device for doctors and other healthcare professionals. It reduces manual work that doctors have to do during patient charting. Voice commands power this device and capture the confidential data of patients. It saves around medical professionals’ work by 15 hours per week.
With IoT app development, there are unparalleled benefits that can improve the quality and efficiency of treatments and improve the patients’ health accordingly.
Benefits of using IoT solution in healthcare
Benefits # 1 – Enhanced mobility and alert of hospital staff
One of the most common benefits of IoT in healthcare is enhanced mobility and alert of hospital professionals. In times of Coronavirus pandemic where more and more patients need urgent help, doctors and nurses need tools to track dozens and even hundreds of patients in real-time. With IoT tracking devices, they can get alerted quickly when essential changes in patients’ parameters occur, quickly find them and provide help asap.
Benefits # 2 – Reduced risk of errors
Sometimes tests mix up, or medical professionals may make a wrong measurement or incorrect results. The error in medicine can lead to severe consequences. Using Iot for data collection and workflow automation is the best way to reduce system costs and decrease errors.
Benefits # 3 – Improved research
IoT-enabled devices are perfect for research purposes as it enables medical professionals to gather a vast amount of data about patients’ illness. This collected data for a statistical study that would support medical research. Thus, IoT not only saves time but also saves money which goes into the research process. Plus, it can enhance the quality of healthcare services for patients.
Benefits # 4 – Enabled end-to-end connectivity and affordability
With healthcare mobility solutions and next-gen medical facilities, IoT can automate patient care workflow. This technology is ideal for different purposes such as information exchange, communication and data movement that makes healthcare delivery service effective. With different modern connectivity protocols such as Bluetooth LE, Wi-Fi and Z-wave, doctors or nurses can change the way patients diagnose health-related problems. It also allows them to innovate revolutionary ways of treatment. As a result, IoT-based apps bring down the costs by cutting down unnecessary visits, using better quality resources and improving planning.
The Bottom Line!
These are the applications and benefits of using IoT-based apps in the healthcare industry. The unfolding crisis in the medical sector due to the pandemic again proved the importance of implementing technology like the Internet of Things to enhance efficiency and improve safety in this industry. Implementing IoT solutions right now is essential if you want to stay ahead of the competition. For that, you need to get in touch with a reliable mobile app development company. They will develop IoT software to understand data, bring devices online and control intelligent systems. You can get software for healthcare professionals, hospitals, and pharma companies.
