Nearly 85 percent of US
adults see a healthcare provider at least once a year and US children top that
number, coming in at nearly 93 percent a year. We must see those numbers in a
greater context when it comes to healthcare consumption: having an appointment
with a provider is not the only time humans check on their health. In fact,
with the rise of wearable technology and almost constant internet access, we
can get a real-time feedback loop of many aspects of our daily health,
including activity levels, nutrition, heart rate, blood sugar, and more.
Whereas humans only saw
snapshots of their health surrounding doctor appointments before the mass
adoption of technology, we can now see a fuller picture of our health
day-to-day. This is primarily due to technology existing within consumer IoT.
Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) has a lot of early wins and future potential in the consumer
healthcare sector. In my third and final post in the IoT applications in
healthcare series, I dive into the applications for healthcare consumers (i.e.
you and me!) that will shape everyday healthcare in the coming years.
IoT Consumer Healthcare
Applications
It’s a bit easier to see
quick adoption rates of IoT platforms and devices in the consumer sphere than
enterprise IoT within large, slow-moving industries such as healthcare.
Generally, consumer adoption involves convincing an individual in some way or
another to make one purchase or subscription. On the other hand, the enterprise
level involves convincing decision-makers to change operational processes and
individual behaviors within that organization, license a product for hundreds
or thousands of users, and often sign a multi-year contract. Therefore, it
makes sense that we’ve already seen some level of success with IoMT adoption
with consumers. However, that rate is stagnating. What I want to explore in
this final post is the different channels that consumer IoMT can revolutionize
how we see healthcare on the individual level once it becomes more widespread.
Without further ado,
let’s jump into three potential applications for IoMT that could improve
consumer healthcare: remote patient care, health record interoperability, and
caregiving.
1. Remote Patient
Monitoring
I discussed remote
patient monitoring in my previous article in this series, IoT Applications for
Healthcare Providers, but while it benefits providers, it also equally—if not
more importantly—benefits consumers. Consumers with chronic illnesses, such as
kidney disease or autoimmune disorders, are often in some sort of medical
facility multiple times monthly, if not weekly.
The costs associated with
continuous medical care not only include the reoccurring hospital or visit
claims, but also emergency care, transportation to and from the facility, the time
spent out of the workforce by the patient or caretaker, and the physical toll
on the body. With IoMT, patients can check in with their doctors remotely from
home, ask questions and voice concerns about their care plan, and perform
simple readings or tests with connected devices that allow for real-time health
status updates.
A university tested a program for patients diagnosed with Type II diabetes in
rural regions of Mississippi to complete all health maintenance appointments
remotely through connected devices, sensors, and tests. At the end of the
preliminary tests, the study found no associated ER visits or hospitalizations
for diabetes management. In addition, the patients saved nearly 10,000 miles of
travel distance. With the widespread use of similar programs, patients with
chronic diseases can save thousands of dollars and hours by bringing care into
their homes through connected technology.
2. Health Record
Interoperability
Think back to the last
time you went to see a new doctor. Did you have to fill out a form detailing
your (and your family’s) entire medical history? Most likely, the answer is
yes, sometimes even if that new doctor is in the same health system as your
existing doctors. Consumers often forget fine (and not-so-fine!) details in
this process, especially when they are required to do it repeatedly.
We often have access to
online portals where we can view our health record, test results, and more.
This is called an electronic health record (EHR), an existing piece of IoMT. So
why can’t offices share EHRs with one another to ease the stress on and
forgetfulness of the human mind?
There is currently no
standardization with data formatting across EHR systems. Even within the health
systems, there can be multiple EHR systems in play. The data between systems is
seldom interoperable, which means as consumers, we must be responsible for
regurgitating this information over and over again. But even in this confusing
and muddled world of EHRs, connected devices that record health data can be
connected to multiple EHRs, allowing doctors across a patient’s care plan to
receive the same information in near real-time.
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