One of the most exciting aspects of the Internet of Things is its versatility. In data-driven environments such as hospitals, the possibilities are almost endless. We’ve come a long way when it comes to healthcare overall ” more people are living longer thanks to advances in medical technology and we have access to incredible life-saving treatments and medications that were a far-off dream 50 years ago. IoT is the next frontier in patient care, both inside and outside of the hospital. Currently, about 60% of hospitals have implemented some kind of IoT solution ”and more are being installed every year. Let’s take a look at 5 examples of devices in action at hospitals around the country.
1. Fewer errors
Humans aren’t perfect, and the prevalence of medical errors is one of the biggest problems our healthcare system faces. These errors cause preventable deaths each year, and about $19.5 billion in healthcare costs. Wearables are among the IoT solutions that can help prevent medical errors. Smart patient wristbands, for instance, can help ensure healthcare providers are dispensing the correct medication to each patient and reducing the opportunity for mislabeling samples or other errors that could endanger the patient.
2. Streamlined processes
Healthcare providers should be spending most of their time caring for patients, but they end up doing a lot of other manual work that takes time away from their primary duties. Some hospitals are starting to use IoT devices to streamline these processes and allow staff to focus on patients. Boston Medical Center uses IoT solutions to increase efficiency in a few different ways. First, they use wireless sensors in refrigerators to ensure blood samples and medications are kept at the proper temperature, bypassing the need for manual monitoring. They also use IoT automation to deliver medication through hundreds of infusion pumps, cutting down on the time staff spends on these activities immensely.
3. Increased security
Unfortunately, there are some major security concerns in hospitals today ”including infant abduction. Outfitting newborns with wireless tags improves security by remotely shutting down elevators and locking doors when the infant is removed from the area without authorization. This tagging also helps prevent mothers and babies from being mismatched due to error.
4. Improved cleanliness
We expect hospital employees to maintain a certain level of cleanliness, but the truth is that many hospital staff members don’t wash their hands as often as they should on the job ”compliance with handwashing standards are often under 40%. Hand hygiene compliance monitoring uses IoT systems to ensure staff members follow proper protocol for hand washing, which can reduce infections in hospitals. The bed itself contains sensors that can determine whether or not the staff member has washed their hands before and after interacting with a patient. A red or green light indicates compliance or non-compliance, and the system records incidences of non-compliance, helping to ensure staff members remain accountable.
5. Real-time patient monitoring
The ability to collect real-time information on hospital patients could mean the difference between life and death at times. Getting continual information about a patient’s status helps empower caregivers to deliver personalized care and respond when patients need them the most. This isn’t just for patients in the ICU either ”patients like pregnant women are at risk too. 58.9% of deaths related to pregnancy and childbirth in the United States were due to preventable causes. The variety of IoT devices and sensors can ensure that providers are notified immediately in case of emergency and help doctors monitor patients more effectively.
Slow Changes in Healthcare
All of these applications are very promising, and it’s exciting that so many hospitals are already seeing the value in IoT. Historically, the medical industry has been one of the slowest to adopt new technology. For example, even though most businesses in other industries abandoned paper records long ago, Electronic Health Records (EHR) adoption has taken decades to become standard. In 2008, only 42% of physicians were using EHR. In 2018, almost every healthcare organization in the United States is now on board with using electronic records, as it improves care and is more convenient for doctors and patients alike. Technological progress may be slow, but it does come to healthcare eventually. Big data and IoT adoption have incredible potential within the healthcare industry, but it is likely that we’ll have to wait a while for the latest and greatest IoT technology to reach our hospitals.