According to a recent report from Business Insider, the market for IoT healthcare technology will reach $400 billion by the year 2022. This growth will be due to increasing innovation in the areas of 5G connectivity and IoT technology, along with the growing acceptance of healthcare application software. This is evidenced by the continuing investment being made in this innovation by the likes of major tech players such as Apple, Google and Samsung. The article that follows does a really good job of pointing out the advantages and disadvantages that come with putting the IoT to work in the healthcare space.
The Internet of Things (IoT) is quickly gaining popularity in all spheres of life, healthcare systems in particular. In a nutshell, the technology allows multiple connected devices to collect and share information with each other.
What does this mean for healthcare?
In fact, the applications are so diverse that you probably wouldn’t believe these examples are taken from real life. Here are just a few:
- Symptom-tracking apps that send updates on responses to cancer treatmentto the physician and which can avoid hospitalization
- Connected hospital equipment that notifies doctors of their current location, informs the hospital management of the replacement needs and monitors staff performance
- Remote temperature monitoring ensuring the correct transportation and storage of vaccines
- Healthcare IT solutions that remind patients to refill medication and digestible sensors that trigger a notification if the medication hasn’t been taken on time
- Continuous Glucose Monitors (CGM) and smart insulin pens that record and recommend the time and the amount of insulin dose injection which come to the rescue to diabetics
- Smart inhalers connected to an app that help people with asthma and pulmonary disease understand what causes the symptoms and predict allergens
Given such examples, the Internet of Things (IoT) is seen as a way of living a smarter and safer life and its application is highly encouraged in medical establishments. However, digital transformation in healthcare isn’t without threats. It’s important to weigh all the advantages and disadvantages of implementing IoT systems in healthcare to be able to plan for ways to maximize the pros while mitigating the cons.
