How IoT Applications are Enhancing the Healthcare Domain?

Earlier in healthcare industry tracking accurate medical data was a tedious job, interactions of patients and doctors were limited and monitoring the patients’ health remotely was not possible. However, IoT has changed the traditional ways of healthcare services in astonishing ways. It has not only improved the overall healthcare practices but also enhanced the patient experience in numerous ways. IoT in Healthcare along with wearables, smartphones, and smart connected devices have together changed this industry for good. Real-time health monitoring, centralized access to health records, better management of medicines and drugs, enhanced communication of the doctors with hospital staff and patients, etc. are a few advantages that IoT offers. Read this article further to have a detailed look into the potential benefits of IoT in Healthcare.

IoT for Data Tracking and Analysis:

Hundreds of patients visit hospitals daily and there is a huge amount of important medical data that needs to be stored and managed properly. IoT in healthcare is used for collecting, reporting and analyzing of the medical data in real-time. The data is saved in centralized systems and it can be accessed by concerned professionals for medical decision making. This avoids human errors and improves overall efficiency.

IoT for Remote Patient Monitoring:

The use of IoT devices and systems has enabled remote monitoring of the patients. Once they have left the hospital or clinic after the treatment, it is necessary to keep watch on their health conditions. IoT solutions help them to perform routine tests, track health conditions and send real-time data to the doctors. Using the IoT-powered wearable devices, Records of heart conditions, blood pressure, hypertension, diabetes, etc. can be sent to the doctors and they can provide online assistance, e-prescriptions, etc. This avoids multiple return visits of the patients as well as ensures that the doctors provide their services even remotely. Doctors can proactively detect bad health conditions. Also in case of emergency, doctors can communicate with patients remotely and provide immediate assistance.

IoT for Communication and Alerts:

IoT devices enable machine-to-machine communication, interoperability, information exchange, etc. It plays a vital role in doctor-patient communication as well as sending timely alerts to patients as well as doctors for any critical health statistics available through IoT devices. The real-time data is collected and sent to their smartphones or hospital software systems or healthcare apps. These apps can be used for sending notifications of the upcoming tests, appointments, etc. or reminding the patients of medicine doses. In the case of life-threatening circumstances, these systems or apps can be used for on-time notifications and treatment. Also, IoT in healthcare improves communication between the staff and ensures better management of the work and resources of the hospital.

Advantages of IoT with other technologies:

• RFID and IoT are together used for inventory management of medicines, medical equipment, etc. It is also used for patient tracking, patient identification, etc.
• When IoT is used with wearable technology, it helps to understand the patient’s health more deeply regarding their heart-beats, blood pressure, calories burnt, etc. for preventive healthcare efforts.
• IoT-enabled mobile applications are used for hiring medical service providers. Such apps are designed for several purposes like accessing vital medical data, remote monitoring and assisting of old patients, pregnant women, etc., internal management of the hospital, etc.
  

Key Takeaways:

We have seen how IoT is influencing the Healthcare industry. The doctors and physicians can perform their responsibilities with greater precision and vision. IoT helps in improving the management of hospital processes, managing the staff and patients, tracking and storing the medical data, reducing errors and wastes, lowering the costs and enhancing the medical outcomes. IoT has already brought a paradigm shift in the healthcare sector with more efficient, accurate, and cost-effective solutions. The upcoming innovations in IoT are sure to change the traditional healthcare ways for the better of humankind.

If you want to leverage the IoT technology, Biz4Solutions is a prominent name in the technology world. We provide new age IoT app development services and healthcare IT services to the hospitals, clinics, individual practitioners and other healthcare service providers. We have already provided solutions like patient scheduler software, on-demand healthcare apps, EMR and EHR, healthcare management system (HMS), etc. to our global clients. We ensure that our healthcare apps and solutions are HIPAA complaint.