We used to IoT in our smart homes. However, there are more significant areas where the smart things have proven themselves as vital assistants. Sure, we are talking about healthcare.
Advanced hospitals use the IoT healthcare solutions to track patients’ health, support care and treatment in a real-time regime.
The following simple statistics makes clear that Internet of Things is already in the medical field:
The number of IoHT units accounted 11.1 million in 2017 and is projected to grow twice as much by 2025:
If digging deep enough into the IoT for healthcare, it becomes clear that the smart solutions help us raise the quality of medical care and standard of living.
With the use of IoHT, our hospitals can gather, analyze and process such an amount of data that a person can’t even imagine coping with.
Below, we present you with top 3 IoHT solutions that have already been applied in hospitals and shown positive results.
Top 3 IoT Based Solutions For Healthcare
These smart things are developed specifically for hospitals and are already in service.
#1 Hand Hygiene WithIoT Solutions
Any child knows to keep germs away you need to wash your hands every day, all day. The case is not an exception for hospital staff. Hands washing is an effective way to reduce a hospital-acquired infection.
The GOJO Purell hand sanitizer, which uses Azure IoT Suite, applies a system of sensors and monitors. They help tracking hygiene practices in hospitals and receive real-time reports. The Performance Summary report includes data on hands hygiene performance, events, opportunities, which take place in a general hospital building (1st floor, clinic, step down, and others).
Why is it so important? According to Jeff Hall, VP, Business Development GOJO Industries, the thing is that about 75 thousand people die each year due to the so-called hospital-acquired infection. Obviously, this smart solution for hospitals was developed to reduce the number of the affected.
#2 Smart Wireless Pill Bottles
Sometimes it seems like healthcare IoT development has no limits. This time, AdhereTech group surprises us with the smart pill bottles based on IoT technology. The bottles can not only remind a patient of the need for the medicine but even send a message-report to the doctor.
Why is it so important? According to the research made by the developer, many patients refuse to drink vital pills or just forget about the proper time. Moreover, they don’t apply any other tech-tool cause they difficult to set up and understand.
This smart pill bottle is programmed to retail patients longer. How does it make so? The IoT-based bottle (1) increases adherence to specialty medications, (2) collects valuable insights, (3) betters the results with targeted interventions, (4) suits any user, as it reminds a simple pill bottle and requires no specific knowledge from a customer, (5) is accessible via secure online dashboard (which excludes the necessity in any complex software). All other settings, such as automated phone calls, text messages, lights, chimes, others can be adjusted to your personal needs.
#3 Smart Medical Device Integration
It’s a well-known fact we are literally packed with smart solutions. An average customer looks for a healthcare solution, which is compatible with all the others devices and applications he or she has, such as fitness bracelet (e.g.: Fitbit) and others.
Hospitals, dental clinics, and other institutions are now looking for such an IoT solution in the healthcare industry that will perfectly pass the medical device integration.
What is more, due to a larger number of wireless IoHT units now there are more opportunities to deal with in-home medical devices. Several examples are a Vital Sync Virtual Patient Monitoring Platform, CareNotify and others.
Final Word
We love imagining our world and society in future where all the duties are accomplished by robots. Today’s smart refrigerators, avens, locks, lights, and energy systems are taken for granted. But when it comes to healthcare, a man starts balancing the advantages and disadvantages. On the one side, IoHT development has to comply with top priority FDA, HIPAA, CE, USP, ISO and other standards. Moreover, there is a problem of personal data security and software vulnerabilities, which can result in fatalities growth. On the other side, we’ve never dreamed to gather and process so much handy information that allows us to help the terminally ill. We see that IoHT gives us a possibility to improve the level of healthcare and standard of living.
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