Modern life is getting unimaginable without the Internet of Things. Users worldwide heavily employ connected devices and pick efficient software solutions for their daily routine practices. There are a few advocates of heavy tech interference in daily life, and they have all grounds to support the extensive use of IoT devices, especially in the healthcare environment.
Nowadays, medical software and hardware are getting more and more sophisticated, and custom IoT healthcare solutions providers continuously come up with cutting-edge products in the area.
Consumers have already got the feel of IoT in healthcare, yet, its development can be unpredictable. Latest devices and apps have dramatically increased the quality of medical services and facilitated healthcare delivery.
Mobile and Web care
As it was recently reported by Salesforce, about 60% of Americans do not monitor their health data and fully rely on their doctors, and less than 30% of patients still keep non-digitalized health records. Given that, medical IoT applications can give multiple advantages to patients and caregivers. Searching for credible medical advice and prescription, patients can use IoT services that allow instant connection with medical professionals.
It is difficult to overestimate IoT for the elderly. Regular going to checkups is tedious for senior patients. However, there are user-friendly web and mobile IoT apps that assist in-home care delivery by generating, analyzing, storing and sharing patients’ medical data, such as blood pressures, blood sugar levels, and more at any time.
Cloud IoT for healthcare
Integration of Cloud and IoT is another popular tendency. IoT healthcare environment becomes increasingly complex as the number of digital information channels increases and causes the influx of generated data. Cloud IoT assists in the medical management of patients and aids in delivering health care services. Leading IoT platforms are powered by Oracle or Salesforce to present a bevy of advantages.
Scalable and cost-efficient
The amount of generated data is so immense that it can be difficult and rather expensive to provide enough physical and virtual space on local servers. Cloud servers boast robust malware protection, and they can be scaled depending on data owners’ requirements. Due to such features as scalability and operating power, cloud servers can process an enormous amount of data across the environment.
Meet analytical needs of health facilities
Medical data is precise, urgent, and extremely important for providing appropriate treatment to patients. By employing Cloud IoT, both care providers can improve patient experience, and patients themselves can be engaged in timely monitoring their own health.
Bring together specific data from relevant IoT devices
It is estimated that by 2020 40% of IoT will be healthcare-related. Available in Cloud, the data gathered from various sensors and other IoT components can be instantly accessed by doctors or patients themselves (e.g. for treating chronic diseases and monitoring incurable patients’ health.)
IoT network
The number of IoT-enabled healthcare products within the limited space is growing exponentially. Their growth is determined by the tendency towards introducing the latest IoT solutions to improve the patient experience. The greater is the number of devices, the better and smoother internet connection should be maintained. The healthcare environment would face problems finding providers to support expensive networks, if not for LPWAN (Low-Power Wide-Area Network.)
Body Function Monitoring
Many healthcare companies have long ago adopted systems of remote monitoring and emergency notifications. The healthcare environment along with the fitness & sports industry enjoys benefits from bringing IoT wearable devices to the top.
New body function monitoring devices were showcased during CES 2017, and some of them truly merit attention. So, to monitor health conditions doing sport and fitness activities, a pair of earbuds measures core body temperature, heart rate, and VO2 along with the speed and distance and plays music.
The generated data is transmitted to users’ smart devices and can be instantly processed, shared, and stored. Another breakthrough in tracking and monitoring health conditions was showcased by Diabnext. They launched an AI tool for diabetes management. Diabnext AI platform features a user-friendly interface and smooth doctor-patient connection, uses Clipsulin (an insulin dose recorder), and boasts compatibility with other IoT devices.
All data generated whilst using the platform is stored on users’ computers or smart devices. To keep pace with the innovations, consumers choose IoT healthcare solutions from reliable software development vendors to fit in with their personal medical needs.
IoT solutions of a kind allow patients to be aware of any health deviations from the norm and avoid critical conditions by timely contacting medical services. These technologies also improve patient experience and the quality of care provision within hospitals. The future of the healthcare environment definitely lies in the use of IoT products. Such an approach will eliminate medical staff’s interference in simple treatment, ensure cut down on manual operations, and improve patients’ well-being.
By Katrine Spirina
Market Analyst, OCS Innovation CompanyKatrine Spirina is a Market Analyst with OCSICO. Her professional interest lies above all in cutting-edge trends and innovations in Healthcare, Fleet Management, and Custom Software Development. Contact Katrine via Katrine.Spirina@ocsico.com to discuss tips & opinions on the tech development of industries.