IoT is Revolutionizing Healthcare Communications

A 71-year-old man with a history of atrial fibrillation starts experiencing heart palpitations. His smart watch records his EKG and alerts his caregiver through their smartphone.

The result?

• The resident or patient receives prompt medical attention.
• Cost savings from avoiding unnecessary doctor visits or trips to the emergency room.
• More efficient time use for residents/patients and healthcare professionals.

This is how the Internet of Things (IoT) is changing medicine today. Giving machines a voice improves clinical outcomes, patient satisfaction, operations, and reimbursement. The potential for revolutionizing healthcare is within reach.

Delivering Better Patient Care More Efficiently

Accenture has discovered that as IoT disrupted the healthcare industry, the Internet of Place, where users can be in different physical places but unite in one common digital space, leverages these interconnected devices and data exchanges to provide customizable and flexible care options, meeting patients and residents on their preferred platforms.

By taking advantage of these opportunities, healthcare providers can provide some of the following benefits.

Guest Satisfaction

Both healthcare providers and payers are focused on the guest experience. Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement is tied to patient satisfaction (measured by HCAHPS), and healthcare systems and insurance companies compete fiercely for patients. Interestingly, in the Accenture survey, two-thirds of providers said a key benefit of their operation’s IoT programs was improved patient experience. Likewise, 44 percent of taxpayers saw a significant increase in customer experience scores from IoT initiatives.

Customized Care

Using IoT tools, patients experience more personalized and convenient treatment. Remote patient monitoring (RPM) devices, like the EKG device mentioned earlier, enable doctors to monitor chronic conditions like cardiac disease, asthma, and diabetes. They also reduce costs by replacing heavy medical equipment. In addition to monitoring conditions, by embracing new technologies such as telemedicine, caregivers, doctors, and family members can meet with patients and residents in person or digitally, depending on preference and other variables such as mobility. Payers have reported significant savings of 42 percent through RPM equipment, Accenture said.

Operations Efficiency

Healthcare is more than the relationship between doctors and patients or among healthcare professionals. Behind the scenes, IoT impacts patient care through operational efficiencies. Smart sensors can track inventory levels, reducing waste, while automation systems can optimize energy consumption by adjusting temperature, lighting, and ventilation. The savings are considerable: In Accenture’s survey, nearly a third of healthcare providers reported “extensive” administrative cost savings from IoT.

Giving Healthcare Devices a Voice

IoT is about giving machines a voice. Sensors, tags, and smart devices collect essential data to improve healthcare and realize significant cost savings. Cloud communications make all this possible by quickly sending information over the Internet through web-based applications.

Here are three ways leading healthcare organizations and payers use IoT today:

1. Wearable Technology

Smartwatches and fitness trackers are significantly impacting wellness programs and the monitoring of chronic conditions. In addition to monitoring chronic conditions, these devices can be used in elder care facilities to detect falls and provide immediate alerts to caregivers. To move the needle on the use of these tools, providers and payers poll patients to ascertain their readiness. Some organizations offer free or discounted wearable devices.

2. Asset Management

IoT allows hospitals to manage equipment and supplies better. For example, location sensors tagged to equipment, and even residents and patients, enable staff to locate anyone and anything, streamlining their work and resulting in more efficient care. Sensors monitor equipment and alert staff to issues before a breakdown occurs. Other IoT systems manage medical supplies and drug inventory.

3. Smart Medical Devices

It may sound like science fiction, but these medical innovations are happening today. The FDA approved the first smart pill in 2017. This pill contains microscopic sensors that detect when a medicine is ingested. A wearable patch shares information with a smartphone app to help the patient monitor a medication’s dosage and usage.

Yet another device may revolutionize asthma treatment. The “smart inhaler” measures actual doses, reminds patients and residents when to use it, and even tracks environmental conditions. A connected smartphone app helps users better manage their condition and shares its data with providers and insurance companies.

The Time Is Now

With rising costs and an aging population, healthcare resources are being stretched like never before. By embracing the IoT and the IoP through smart devices with a hybrid cloud UC solution, healthcare providers can offer a way to deliver better and more effective healthcare services.