How Can the Power of IoT Enhance Telehealth Services?


IoT, or the Internet of Things, could make Telehealth even better. People are choosing to see their doctors online more and more. In the past few years, Telehealth, or providing health care services from a distance, has grown by leaps and bounds. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, less than 1% of all healthcare in the U.S. was done through Telehealth. Now, more than 70% of doctors say they are more likely to use it, and 75% say it helps them give better care. With the help of Telehealth, doctors and nurses can take care of a larger number of patients without being there in person. If IoT devices were used to provide this kind of virtual care, it could have even more benefits. Using IoT devices to give this virtual help could increase its benefits even more.

Benefits of Telehealth Services

We can already see how technology is changing healthcare by making it less reliant on humans (and therefore less prone to mistakes made by humans) and more focused on the patient. The main benefits of the Internet of Things for healthcare organizations are as follows −

  • Less Cost − By using IoT technologies and connected medical devices, costs will go down because doctors and nurses can keep an eye on their patients in real-time using.

  • Better patient experience − An improved patient experience is achieved when patients are linked to the healthcare system through the Internet of Things.

  • Decreasing wastages − Using the Internet of Things (IoT) for data gathering and process automation decreases errors, waste (such as unneeded tests and costly imaging), and system expenses (especially the ones related to the human factor).

  • Improved Treatment Outcomes − Healthcare solutions that use big data and are connected through cloud computing can give carers real-time data that they can use to make smart decisions and give treatments that are backed by evidence.

How does IoT help in Telehealth?

Those who live in remote areas, who are underserved, or who are unable to leave their homes due to illness. Especially, disabilities can benefit greatly from the convenience of telemedicine. It also facilitates access to subspecialty care, such as neurology, for those in need. Better access to tools and health data outside of traditional office visits can also boost care quality outside of medical facilities.

  • Patient monitor − One of the most important ways IoT can improve telehealth services is by letting doctors watch patients from afar. This gives doctors a better idea of a patient's health without having to see them in person. This real-time remote monitoring could make it much easier for people to get health care. Providers can get information about their patients through a dashboard or clinical decision support system that puts all the information in one place and lets them see the status of their patients in almost real-time.

  • Planning for best security − Keeping patient identities and health information safe and secure is a real challenge for people in charge of health care. IoT uses both phone lines and internet connections to work, so it's important for users to have safe connections. Both types of information are very sensitive, so security is very important while they are being stored and sent.

  • Reminders about Medications − On a less important note, IoT could remind people when they need to take their medicine. Some sensors could even tell if someone missed a dose and tell their primary care providers about it. Medical wearables could help patients remember when to take their medicines, so they don't have to. They could tell people when to take a certain medicine and how much of it to take.

  • Infrastructure − For example, power points, cable access points, permission for device cabling, no connectivity barriers, and the right amount of space for installation should all be checked out ahead of time to prevent any more problems. Even though IoT doesn't need complicated infrastructure to work, you should make sure there aren't any problems at the last minute. You may also need a team of people who know about networking and can help you with everything from setting up devices to managing them.

  • Robots for Telehealth − For instance, self-driving telehealth robots can find their way to patients in exam rooms or hospital rooms, letting doctors talk to patients from afar. Robots can help keep an eye on patients from afar and allow specialists to give advice to hospitals in rural areas. Some robots can follow doctors around as they do their rounds and send live feeds to remote specialists, who can then give advice on-screen. A patient in acute care can talk to a nurse from their bed while the nurse is helping other patients or doing other things. Doctors and specialists can check in at rural hospitals from far away. In other cases, doctors from different time zones work the night shift at rural hospitals. Other robots let surgeons help with operations from a distance while seeing the same view as the surgeon doing the operation.

How Powerful IoT and Telehealth Can Be?

It makes sense to use IoT in Telehealth. This technology is great for enabling and growing telemedicine services because it lets people connect from far away and collects data. Combining it with IoT devices will help it grow even more and start a new era of easy access to health care.

Conclusion

IoT might not only cut down on the number of people who need to go to the hospital, but it also lets doctors and nurses give effective care to patients both at home and in the hospital. It has a lot of potential for health care, especially Telehealth.

Updated on: 20-Feb-2023

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