credits: mobifilia.com
Healthcare is and always will be a really crucial field. With the advent of the global pandemic in 2020 i.e COVID-19 and its vulnerability for an antidote, it is hard to pinpoint its end. But, apart from this, healthcare is still quite a vulnerable field.
From mishandling of devices to late tracking of patients' conditions, healthcare does face a lot of heat on a daily basis. Add the pandemic situation and you have your cherry on the top. However, with the proper implementation of technology, the burden can always be reduced. This is where IoT steps in.
By using IoT to do a simple task of opening a door to active patient monitoring using AI, IoT technology has always been a part of the Healthcare Industry. And, here are a few ways through which IoT is providing aid in Healthcare.
IoT Aids For Patients
You must've heard about fitness bands. Yeah, the same bands which help you track your steps, count your heartbeat, and do a lot of other tasks. Well, that's an IoT device for you geeks out there. With the help of such sensors, one can detect the conditions of any individual.
Not only do they help track your health conditions but, they can also alert you when your health is deteriorating. Devices like Apple watch can warn you 30 mins before a heart attack. Now that's how smart IoT has become in this generation.
This works incredibly well with doctors who have to monitor patients 24 x7 but can't be in direct contact. Since these are IoT devices, the data is stored on the cloud and can be accessed from anywhere around the world. It can also be used to understand the patient's conditions and notice any kind of development.
On a more advanced level, A system like this can also be implemented with AI which can predict life-threatening situations and warn the doctors beforehand.
credit: digitaltrends.com
For Physicians
The implementation of IoT for physicians goes hand in hand with the patients. While a patient is wearing an IoT device so he/she can be monitored, a Physician is also wearing one so he/she can monitor. As the device is constantly feeding data, with proper admin access physicians treating you can access those data in real-time.
This not only helps them track your health efficiently but also provides emergency treatments in case medical services are far away. The scope of IoT as in for Doctors and Patients keeps on increasing depending on the requirement.
With such technology present in current times, the burden on doctors greatly decreases.
Assistance in Health Insurance Companies
IoT also has a great scope in Health Insurance companies thanks to its ability to provide transparency. Health Insurance Companies are usually seen as bad guys due to the constant doubts they show while you are trying to claim your Insurance.
But at the same time, they are ones that have to face multiple fraud claims every day due to a lack of transparency. The implementation of IoT drastically reduces such cases.
The data collected through the IoT devices can help to determine; whether the claims made are genuine or not. Now, this IoT device could be a fitness band or a security camera at the intersection.
This helps in preventing fraud on either side of the claim. It helps to bring transparency between insurers and customers in the underwriting, pricing, claim handling, and risk assessment processes.
For Hospitals
Oh, hospitals, the social gathering for the sick people, the breeding ground for many communicable diseases. This is the place where IoT can work wonders in its true potential.
IoT trackers, equipped in valauble instruments like oxygen masks, beds, etc can be traced in real-time. These can even be equipped with controllers and we can control them from anywhere we want. It might sound quite plain, but having a real-time update on your equipment can come real handy in an emergency situation.
Hospitals also use IoT sensors that detects any emergency vehicles in their vicinity and notify authorities to be on standby. With the addition of an AI, a hospital equipped with IoT devices can also work autonomously. Yes, you would need doctors, but you won't need people to get the doctor, ring the bell, even to constantly monitor the patient as the AI would do it for you.
credits:peerbits.com
Tackle with COVID-19
We cannot ignore the fact that COVID-19 has become a real pain. Emphasis on "social distancing" is at its peak. Everybody wants to avoid contacts to stop the spread of the virus. So, IoT being IoT is doing what it does the best, making things accessible and as contactless as possible.
IoT in thermometers: Thermometers with IoT can be eqquiped outside public places. These thermometers can scan the temperature of the people standing near its vicinity. It then sends this data to the staff of that public building so they can pinpoint any infected individual while refraining from an individual scan.
This solution not only helps to prevent social distancing but also requires less manpower.
credit:geospatialworld.net
At present, VivaLNK’s medical company has made such body temperature sensors. This provides real-time monitoring of body temperature and the data is then sent by the IoT controllers for overviewing.
Similarly, a few companies are working on IoT buttons which can be paired with any type of sensor, and with just one press it will trigger a set of actions. This technology is greatly used in an emergency situation as a means to send an SOS but can also be used as an alarm, a switch, or anything logically possible.
Conclusion
IoT in healthcare is has got plenty of applications till now. And no doubt, by upcoming years, they will have much more. With the entry of cheap materials to construct expensive stuff; IoT has a fruitfull future in the field of healthcare.
credits: peerbits.com
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