There is little doubt on the influence the Internet of Things has had and continues to have on the consumer and healthcare sector. It has redefined devices, applications and the interactions and connections we have with one another. IoT is forever offering new tools for the purpose of efficiency in the healthcare sector, so as to ensure patients receive the best possible care, the cost of health is affordable, and the kind of treatment received is the best possible.
Thus, it’s a number of things that those who promote wellness and hospitals are able to take advantage of, as they look to optimise resources required for a smooth workplace. For example, IoT is used by most hospitals for controlling humidity and temperature within the operating rooms and asset management.
The major pluses of Internet of Things for consumers and the healthcare industry can be wrapped up in the following:
1. Decreased Costs
When providers of healthcare are able to take advantage of the connectivity of healthcare solutions, this enables patient monitoring to be conducted in real time, thus cutting down significantly on doctor visits. For home care services, this is able to cut down on hospital stays and also re-admissions.
2. Enhanced Experiences
Consumer activities, such as in the area of cooking, can be improved through the implementation of IoT, such as by linking recipe suggestions with related ingredients, much like a YouTube video may offer suggestions on a video.
3. Improved Treatment Outcome
The connectivity of the health care sector, through the use of cloud computing or some other similar infrastructure gives the carers, the ability to access information in real time. This allows them to make more informed decisions, as well as offer treatments based on real evidence. This leads to a more timely health care practice, with improvements in treatment outcomes.
3. Improved Insight into Behaviours
The assumptions that one may make about specific habits, such as how much sleep or walk an individual may get, or the amount of time a person may spend on a particular task, can now all be accurately curated, and properly understood. This helps related services make decisions based on real data, rather than assumptions.
4. Improved Disease Management
When patients are constantly being monitor, and healthcare workers are able to access this data in real time, this ensures that patients receive appropriate treatment(s) on time, before they fester.
5. Verify Events or Behaviour
Billing for specific supplies, such as water or energy will be far more accurate when coupled with real time data. The benefits for the consumer would exist in the area of verification for products, which will result in improved or increased confidence.
6. Solving Offline Security and Safety Problems
There are tons of different methods one can use to secure valuables, however some of these methods have weaknesses which, can be mitigated with the implementation of IoT. Digital keys can be adopted for regulated access, and objects lost can be tracked and found.
7. Reduced Errors
An excellent way of cutting down on waste, while reducing system costs and minimising errors, exists in the collection of data, and automated workflows with decision driven by such collated data.
8. Efficiency Gains
There is that potential for efficiency gains for companies, which can pass onto the consumers; fewer barriers for entry, as the cost of data and technology drop, creating more opportunities for newcomers.
9. Improved Patient Experience
The connectivity of the healthcare sector, through Internet of Things, places a much deeper emphasis on the patient’s needs. Such emphasis may result in, improved accuracy when diagnosing, more gung-ho treatments, efficient and timely interventions by physicians, and improved treatment outcomes, leading to care that is more accountable and that is much more trusted amongst the patients themselves.
10. Convenience
Saving both money and time by implementing some form of automation for specific tasks, such as checking expiration dates of medicines and food and reading energy meters. The interconnections between the aggregation of information and devices could result in the elimination of the complexities that consumers typically have to negotiate by themselves.
AUTHOR INFO
Uchenna Ani-Okoye is a former IT Manager who now runs his own computer support website www.compuchenna.co.uk.
