COVID-19 acted as a critical stress test that exposed the under preparedness and vulnerabilities in healthcare systems, particularly around digitalization. It demonstrated that more robust digital health infrastructure is essential not only for managing crises but also for the routine delivery of care in the modern world.
Mass adoption of IoT is rapidly transforming the healthcare sector, offering promising developments and innovations. Over the next five years, we can expect several trends and transformations as IoT technologies become more integrated into healthcare services. Having closely watched the pandemic and luckily surviving through it 😊, I feel following adoption could and would change the way we look at healthcare.
Enhanced Security and Privacy – With the increasing adoption of IoT in healthcare, there will be a heightened focus on cybersecurity and data privacy. The sensitivity of health data and the potential consequences of data breaches will drive advancements in secure IoT frameworks and regulations. This will involve developing more robust encryption methods, secure data storage solutions, and compliance with stringent regulations to protect patient information. The most common implementation would be integration of HL7 data with broad openness on both north & south bound integration interfaces, so it’s not just the tracking data from physical device but also patient’s health history from last few years that can be analysed with AI engines.
Enhanced Remote Patient Monitoring – IoT will significantly expand capabilities in remote patient monitoring. Devices will become more sophisticated, enabling continuous and precise monitoring of a wide range of health metrics from the comfort of patients’ homes. This will not only improve patient outcomes by catching potential health issues before they become severe but will also reduce the need for frequent hospital visits, which is particularly beneficial for chronic disease management and elderly care. For more details refer to my earlier article: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/virtual-hospitals-next-healthcare-iot-dadheech-girish-1f/?trackingId=zpYfesbdS%2FeWMETGCCdyxQ%3D%3D
Wider Integration of Ingestible & Wearable Technologies – Wearables will become increasingly integrated into patient care plans from not just shallow tech but also from deep tech implementation. These devices will track health indicators such as heart rate, sleep patterns, physical activity, and more, providing data directly to healthcare providers. This seamless integration will aid in real-time health monitoring and personalized healthcare, allowing treatments to be adjusted dynamically based on the data received. For further note on developments in this space please refer to: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/iomt-innovations-maximizing-patientcare-improve-hospital-girish-okwfc/?trackingId=zpYfesbdS%2FeWMETGCCdyxQ%3D%3D
Intelligent Asset Management and Operational Efficiency – IoT will enhance asset management within healthcare facilities through better tracking of equipment and inventory management. This will minimize equipment loss and ensure that critical tools are well-maintained and available when needed, thus increasing operational efficiency. Additionally, IoT can help manage hospital workflows, reducing wait times and improving patient throughput. But what is more important is not just dots moving on the map, it’s the intelligence driven by the dots over the time that improves overall efficiency 😊.
Expansion of AI and Machine Learning for wider audience – As more healthcare devices become connected, the amount of data generated will grow exponentially. This data will feed into AI and machine learning models to provide deeper insights into patient care and health trends. AI can analyse this data to predict patient deteriorations, suggest personalized treatment plans, and optimize resource allocation within healthcare facilities. While doing so the coming years would tell us how “bias” is overcome in learning models in AI.
