What is the IoMT?
The Internet of Things continues to transform various industries. The medical field, in particular, is in the midst of a revolution in how patients receive their care and how medical providers offer their services. The rollout of Internet of Medical Things devices, including in hospitals and as convenient, wearable products, provides data resolution never before possible, and these changes are serving as powerful tools, particularly as telehealth continues to expand. Here are some of the reasons why the IoMT is poised to change how patients receive medical care and manage their medical needs.
Access to More Information
In the past, doctors often only had access to information they gathered in their offices. A patient’s blood pressure, as an example, can vary significantly throughout the day, but taking a reading in an office only provides a snapshot that might not be reflective of a patient’s typical blood pressure. By using IoMT devices, doctors can chart a patient’s blood pressure throughout the day, letting them get a better reading on how a patient is doing. Having a larger window to view can help prevent inaccurate diagnoses and let doctors catch potential problems that might have gone unnoticed otherwise.
In addition, older medical records could often be difficult to access, especially if a patient switched to a new doctor. IoMT devices can store an effectively unlimited amount of data, letting patients keep their own archives and making data easier to transfer. By being able to view long-term trends, doctors and other care providers can potentially offer superior services to their patients.
Enabling Better Telemedicine
In-person appointments are necessary for many medical conditions. Many medical needs, however, can be effectively treated online. The move to telehealth, accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, means that patients can often expect high-quality care without having to show up to appointments in person. This shift has made receiving care far more convenient for patients, and many doctors find they’re able to serve a greater number of patients online and treat those who live in areas where medical access is limited. Armed with the growing number of IoMT products, doctors, clinics, and hospitals can expand their telehealth offerings as demand for more convenient care continues to increase. In addition, doctors and patients can schedule shorter but more frequent appointments as telehealth eases the logistics of providing care.
Patient Monitoring
For patients in potentially dangerous situations in care centers, time is of the essence. While alarms and other monitoring solutions can be adequate in many scenarios, IoMT technology can alert doctors and other care providers nearly instantly if a patient is in need of urgent care. Similarly, IoMT devices can be used by patients in their homes, allowing their devices to provide automatic status updates to care providers without requiring any action from patients. This can prove especially useful for patients who struggle with remembering to report their information to their care providers.
IoMT devices typically function within a larger electronic medical records framework. Because of this, care providers can access information from within the integrated suite of tools, enabling them to load information instantly instead of having to interact with varying interfaces.
Patient Self-Service
As monitoring devices become more accessible, some patients can rely on the information they provide to better manage their health without the need for professional care. In many cases, patients can be taught how to manage some of their medical needs on their own without having to rely on regularly scheduled meetings with their doctors, allowing them to avoid unnecessary trips and schedule appointments only when medically dictated.
In addition, the information gathered through IoMT devices can be used with apps to provide guidance to patients for managing their medical needs. Patients with diabetes, for example, can track their diets and rely on blood glucose readings from IoMT devices to better stay at healthy levels.
IoT-Enabling Technologies
As powerful as IoT technology can be, it depends on having the proper infrastructure in place to function correctly. WiFi, in particular, is a cornerstone technology. The widespread adoption of WiFi 6, and the growing use of WiFi 6e, has provided more reliable connectivity, especially in professional environments such as hospitals and medical clinics. In addition, the cost of WiFi chips has dropped over time, making it more affordable to place in medical devices. Regular communication empowers more advanced IoMT technology by allowing providers to rely on real-time data on patient status and location, enabling more efficient operation. As WiFi 7 technology comes online in the coming years, those relying on IoMT technology can expect even better performance and a greater ability to handle large volumes of traffic as IoMT devices become more popular.
Mobile connections can serve as valuable resources. Those who travel frequently can be assured that their medical information is sent to their care providers as long as they have a mobile internet connection.
Research and Public Health Benefits
The benefits of IoMT devices are clear for individuals, but the technology holds promise for medical research as well. With patient consent, providers of IoMT devices can collect a vast amount of data that would not have been possible to access in the past. Combined with modern artificial intelligence technologies, these devices can help researchers find signals that would have otherwise been lost in the noise, potentially leading to better treatment protocols in the future. Big Data analysis, in particular, holds a tremendous amount of promise.
In addition, this data can be used for improving public health. Patient demographic data, along with IoMT data, can help researchers develop more effective public health initiatives. If people in a particular region or in certain demographics, for example, are found to be at higher risk of certain conditions, targeted initiatives can improve health across an entire community.
The doctor-patient relationship remains at the core of medical care. However, the advent of new technologies is providing more valuable, robust data than what was possible in the past. Medical expertise will continue to be needed, whether through in-person visits or via telehealth, but patients can expect better convenience and superior care as more IoMT devices come to market in the coming years.