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2021/11/22

IoT in Healthcare - The Benefits in Digital Industry

  • Connect and support people
    • Insights overview

    The global pandemic has made one thing very clear: Providing medical care to patients is not always easy. Seriously ill patients in particular need the best possible treatment – and collecting as much medical data as possible from them is crucial. But collecting this data the usual way is complex and time-consuming. Medicine has a long history of fighting against time to save patients. Nowadays, the amount of medical data we are able to collect is also increasing tremendously and it gets more and more difficult to process and analyze these data packages.

    In comparison to traditional methods, modern IT with its countless possibilities offers much more efficient solutions for this problem. Based on digital healthcare this data is far more easier to collect, to process and analyze.

    Digitalization will make healthcare simpler and more efficient in the future. This will make it possible to provide a high level of care to all citizens, in some cases even regardless of location. This makes digital healthcare an interesting model of healthcare management for patients, doctors and clinics alike.

    Covid-19 is driving digital healthcare forward

    The Corona pandemic showed that online meetings are the meetings of the future. At the same time, it became apparent that many more appointments can be held this way than previously thought. All without leaving the house or putting oneself at risk of infection. This new approach has increased the acceptance of this new way in all areas – also in the healthcare system. This shows that virtual care will be the model of the future.

    Why the Internet of Things is the future for healthcare

    Internet of Things (IoT)-enabled devices play an important role in remote medical monitoring. They enable physicians to provide excellent diagnosis and care to their patients. This increases satisfaction on both sides and makes interactions with the treating physician easier.

    In addition to better treatment outcomes, lower healthcare costs are also increasingly the focus of Digital Healthcare. Nevertheless, it can be said that Digital Healthcare benefits the entire healthcare system – including patients, physicians, hospitals and health insurance companies.

    IoT in hospitals

    The IoT is a fundamental facilitator in hospitals: It can be used to monitor patients or locate medical equipment in real time. Even medical staff can be found faster in this way, allowing doctors and nurses to act more quickly and efficiently.

    IoT and health insurance

    The many technical possibilities of digital healthcare make an insurance company’s work easier: insurance and claims processes can be implemented more easily and risks in health status can be assessed more easily. Specifically, they can check, for example, whether patients are actually complying with their treatment plans and how they are affecting their health.

    IoT and you as a patient

    As a patient, one benefits from advanced devices that help to achieve a better level of health. With the help of the IoT and numerous wearables, patients can take an active role in their health status. For example, tech capabilities allow them to set up alert mechanisms for family members: For example, when alarming deviations in sugar levels, blood pressure or heart rate become apparent.

    Here’s how IoT helps those treating you

    Doctors have the opportunity to permanently check a patients health data through practical wearables. This form of remote check ups allow them to deliver medical care as efficiently as possible. If their health readings show that there is a need to adjust a treatment plan, treating physicians can respond to that circumstance immediately. Gaps in patient health data due to long waits for appointments are also eliminated.

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    Digital Healthcare – Healthcare rethought

    The beneficial symbiosis of the Internet of Things and healthcare shows again and again in various examples: The opportunities in the healthcare sector through the digitalization of healthcare are constantly increasing. The special IoT applications make it possible to collect, store and analyze enormous amounts of data extremely fast. This is precisely why Internet of Things Technologies for Healthcare are considered a groundbreaking step towards the future!

    Digital Healthcare is based on four stages that combine different phases and processes. Each of these stages works hand-in-hand with those closest to ensure optimal healthcare delivery.

    • Step 1: The first stage is used to collect data using connected devices. These can be camera systems, detectors or sensors alike.
    • Step 2: The analog data collected is converted into digital data. They form the basis for the modern digital healthcare approach.
    • Step 3: After digitization, the task is to standardize this data and bring it into the cloud or data center.
    • Step 4: In the final digital healthcare step, the health data is managed and analyzed. Data at this level helps treating physicians choose the best treatment approaches.

    The biggest benefits of IoT for the healthcare system

    Digital healthcare and the IoT in healthcare bring numerous benefits. The top benefits of IoT in healthcare include:

    • Reduced costs: unnecessary doctor visits and hospitalizations are eliminated due to real-time monitoring.
    • Better treatment: comprehensive data allows doctors to make informed decisions with full transparency.
    • Rapid diagnosis: Continuous patient monitoring allows physicians to diagnose diseases faster.
    • Medication and device management: networked devices are more cost-saving and efficient with digital healthcare, as is the management of medications to be administered.
    • Proactive treatment: Continuous monitoring of a patients health status using digital healthcare allows proactive medical treatment.
    • Fewer errors: Healthcare IoT Applications can reduce the number of errors by making decision-making much more efficient.

    Immediate reporting and observing

    IoT healthcare devices can assist with the monitoring of patients in real-time, as IoT connected devices are already helping to prevent health emergencies such as asthma attacks, heart failure, diabetes, depression, and much more. Wearable heart rate trackers and IoT connected inhalers, for example, can collect medical data and store it on a smartphone app. This useful data can then be sent to a doctor or physician to remotely monitor a patient’s status.

    The devices used in IoT healthcare can gather and send anything from weight levels, ECGs, blood pressure, and oxygen and blood sugar levels. The data is often stored securely in the cloud and shared with authorised personnel regardless of location. We’re already seeing remote patient monitoring used successfully with TeamViewer.

    Analysing and sorting data

    IoT in healthcare benefits communication from machine to machine and the movement of data and information, which is known as interoperability. Furthermore, IoT healthcare devices are able to easily gather and analyse masses of data in the cloud, which arrives thick and fast because of the real-time function. This cloud feature reduces the need to store the raw data elsewhere. Of course, securing sensitive health information can be a challenge – especially since healthcare providers often need to share data and analytics with others in order for quick decisions to be made – but physical device security and end-to-end encryptions help to secure personal information.

    IoT healthcare research purposes

    Over the years, it’s clear to see that IoT technology in healthcare isn’t just for cutting costs by delivering remote treatments, but also for research. IoT helps to gather together masses of information about patient illnesses that could otherwise take years and years by manual methods. Medical research can benefit from current and real-time data that saves a huge amount of time and resources – this, in turn, could drive better treatments and improve knowledge in the future.

    Notifications and tracking

    Medical IoT devices have been created with the intention of collecting and transferring important data for healthcare professionals to check in real-time. These devices also have the intelligent capabilities to give alerts to the right people via smartphones in emergency situations. Remote alarming features are found in IoT platforms like TeamViewer and are there to help report and provide alerts on the condition of patients, regardless of time or location.

    How TeamViewer IoT can support digital healthcare

    We at TeamViewer allow professionals to set up use cases across the industry. To do this, simply combine the monitoring and remote control functions to collect the necessary data for our customers like Doro. As soon as the monitored Digital Healthcare data shows discrepancies, the devices notify them immediately. So, they are able to react to health irregularities much faster with the set up IoT use cases in Healthcare.

    Advantages of IoT in Healthcare

    • Helping to reduce costs and overall waiting times in hospitals and doctors’ offices.
    • The ability to remotely monitor patients, tracking hospital staff, as well as inventory management.
    • Increasing medical research and assisting with data collecting in the cloud.
    • Diagnosis and treatments are quicker due to better information and data.
    • Likelihood of errors is decreased thanks to everyone being better informed and data shared effectively with the right personnel.