The healthcare industry is one of the fastest industries to adopt Internet of Things. Integrating IoT into medical devices greatly improves the quality and effectiveness of service and brings high value for the elderly, patients with chronic conditions, and those who require constant supervision.

The utilization of IoT in the healthcare industry is increasing rapidly. Organizations and enterprises are redesigning their business models to provide health care solutions that fulfill the growing demands of data-fuelled customers.

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Let’s take a look at some health care devices developed using IoT:

• Wearable or portable devices can be connected to the cloud to extract and analyze collected patient data in real time.
• Patients can be monitored at their homes using live video and audio streaming.
• Doctors are able to monitor vital health indicators that are collected by smart devices.
• Health care providers are able to create diagrams and other visualizations based on data collected from health monitoring devices.

Healthcare organizations and care recipients can benefit from IoT in following ways:

1.    Decreased Costs

Using sensor enabled smart solutions, monitoring patients can be done on a real-time basis. Thus, it significantly cuts down on unnecessary visits to doctors. Also, advanced home care facilities using IoT will cut down on hospital stays and readmissions.

2.    Improved Outcomes of Treatment

Connectivity of health care solutions through virtual or cloud platforms enables the health provider to access real-time information. On the basis of this data, they can make informed decisions as well as offer treatment that is evidence based.

3.    Improved Disease Management

Using sensor enabled solutions to monitor patients on a continuous basis, health care providers can get access to real-time data, and using this timely information, diseases can be treated before they get out of hand.

4.    Reduced Errors

IoT facilitates accurate collection of data and automated workflows combined with data-driven decisions. These factors are an excellent way of cutting down system costs and minimizing errors.

5.    Enhanced Patient Experience

Using the Internet of Things, hospitals and the healthcare industry can put emphasis on the needs of the patient and gain their trust.  This includes proactive treatments, accurate diagnosis, timely intervention by physicians and enhanced treatment outcomes.

The Internet of Things is undoubtedly transforming the healthcare industry completely by redefining how apps, devices, healthcare solutions and people interact and connect with each other. IoT is constantly offering new tools and efficiencies that makes up an integrated healthcare system and ensures reduced healthcare cost, better care for patients and improved outcomes. As the Internet of Things is becoming increasingly relevant to the health industry, it has given rise to several challenges. Healthcare experts and technology analysts are concerned with data security. IoT deals with sensitive health information being transmitted over the internet; this makes IoT devices more vulnerable to hacks than offline records.

Regardless of these concerns, IoT offers a huge saving potential for both healthcare providers and recipients. As more funding and research is devoted to the healthcare IoT market segment, IoT will become more secure and an integral part of personal health.