As the aging population continues to grow—expected to exceed 20% of the U.S. population by 2030—remote patient monitoring is becoming an increasingly important option for healthcare. This is evident from a recent sector report more than 60 million people the US will use remote patient monitoring by 2024.
RPM is one of the ways the Internet of Things and connectivity technologies are making health technology more accessible to patients and healthcare providers.
IoT expert Chris Baird is CEO of OptConnect, a company that offers systems for various healthcare technology use cases for patients and caregivers. We spoke with Baird about how IoT can modernize healthcare and its role in remote monitoring and reliable wearable devices.
Q. How can IoT help improve RPM and patient outcomes?
A. The IoT is revolutionizing remote patient monitoring by enabling real-time data collection, analysis and intervention. With IoT-enabled devices, healthcare providers can now continuously monitor patients wherever they are, reducing the need for frequent in-person visits that still only capture a single moment in time.
This capability is especially important for managing chronic conditions such as diabetes, hypertension and heart disease, where ongoing tracking is crucial for timely intervention. By having access to real-time data, physicians can make more informed decisions, intervene earlier and prevent complications, ultimately leading to better patient outcomes.
In addition to making treatment easier, IoT can also enable more personalized care.
Devices that track vital signs such as blood pressure, oxygen levels and heart rate can provide patient-specific data in real time and over longer periods of time. Healthcare professionals can then fine-tune care plans based on trends and insights gathered over time, rather than relying on periodic snapshots taken during office visits.
This continuous monitoring improves the quality of care, allowing physicians to dynamically adjust treatments – enabling greater adherence to treatment regimens and overall patient satisfaction.
For example, an IoT-enabled glucose monitor can send real-time alerts and notifications to the patient, enable immediate adjustments and delivery of life-saving insulin, and track trends to help improve the individual’s long-term health.
IoT-enabled remote monitoring systems can also significantly reduce healthcare costs. By avoiding unnecessary hospitalizations and emergency room visits, hospitals and healthcare systems can optimize their resources and focus on critical care when necessary.
This cost reduction is critical for both healthcare providers and patients, especially as healthcare systems around the world struggle with rising costs and limited resources.
Q: Can you talk about connectivity and data security issues in healthcare IoT?
A. Today, IoT devices collect vast amounts of health data, which is often sent through various networks before reaching healthcare providers. But this capability also introduces a potential attack surface for cybercriminals who may try to exploit vulnerabilities in these devices or their networks.
To help mitigate these risks, mobile IoT providers must enable end-to-end data encryption, robust authentication protocols, and compliance with strict data privacy regulations, for example HIPAA in the US and GDPR in Europe. Healthcare organizations should also establish protocols for regular security audits and firmware updates to protect against evolving cyber threats.
‘Security by obscurity’ is not a safe and reliable model. Many people deploy an IoT device with a set-it-and-forget-it mentality, and we know that approach doesn’t work. People often joke that the ‘s’ in Internet of Things stands for security, as it is often neglected, ignored or misunderstood.
If IoT devices are becoming increasingly common in healthcare. It is imperative that all components of the system – devices, applications, networks and data storage systems – are secure and compliant with healthcare regulations. These protocols are critical to maintaining patient trust and avoiding legal and financial consequences.
It is often better to build in cellular connectivity so that data can be sent securely over private networks. This avoids dependence on Wi-Fi and other networks that may not be secure, which can expose all parties to potential risks in the event of a data breach.
Q. What challenges do hospitals and healthcare systems face with medical IoT devices and RPM?
A. One of the biggest challenges hospitals and healthcare systems face with medical IoT devices is integrating these technologies into their existing IT infrastructure. Many healthcare providers are still working with legacy systems that are not designed to support the data-intensive, real-time capabilities of modern IoT devices.
This challenge can also create interoperability issues, where data collected from IoT devices may not integrate seamlessly with electronic health records or other clinical systems, complicating care coordination and patient management. Investing in a renewed IT infrastructure and ensuring that IoT devices can work with different systems is a challenge that healthcare providers must address to fully realize the benefits of IoT in patient care.
Another challenge is the associated costs deploying and maintaining IoT devices. While these devices can lead to long-term cost savings by reducing hospital admissions and streamlining care, the initial investments required for the devices, software and connectivity infrastructure can be significant.
In addition, the costs of training healthcare personnel in the effective use of these devices are often underestimated. For IoT to be a viable solution in healthcare, especially for hospitals with limited resources, the financial burden must be carefully managed and offset by a clear return on investment.
Another challenge facing hospitals and healthcare systems is the challenge with medical device life cycles of IoT devices. Connected devices are often consumable because they are used and then returned after the patient’s health has improved.
This requires that the hospital or health care provider have a way to return the devices, clean them, erase the stored data, refurbish them, and prepare them for reuse. All this can be a cumbersome and expensive undertaking.
Finally, there is the challenge of adoption by patients and healthcare providers. Many patients, especially older adults or those in rural areas, may not be comfortable using IoT devices or may have limited access to the necessary technology.
On the provider side, there is often a steep learning curve when adopting new technologies. Ensuring that both patients and healthcare providers are adequately trained and confident in the use of IoT devices is critical to successful implementation. Hospitals and healthcare systems must invest in education and support to overcome these adoption barriers and make remote monitoring a routine part of patient care.
Q. Looking ahead, what are some trends with IoT medical devices in the RPM space?
A. About 17 billion IoT-connected devices are expected in 2024, rising to more than 30 billion by 2030. That number reflects a dramatic increase in the number of IoT medical devices that will be connected in the future – and security issues are only going to become more and more challenging. Bigger challenges require a joint effort.
To stay ahead, both IoT and healthcare professionals must stay on top of security needs. Attacks, vulnerabilities and risks will continue to increase. This requires all parties to plan, prepare, predict and be ready. More compliance and regulation will be needed. New standards will be established, and all parties will need to increase their vigilance and adopt the new standards.
Artificial intelligence and machine learning are two of the most exciting trends in IoT. These technologies, when combined with IoT, enable predictive analytics that can help healthcare providers anticipate patient needs and intervene before problems escalate.
For example, AI algorithms can analyze the vast amount of data collected by IoT devices to detect patterns and abnormalities that could indicate a potential health problem, for example early signs of heart failure or worsening diabetes. This proactive approach to healthcare will significantly improve outcomes for both patients and providers.
Another emerging trend is the development of advanced, minimally invasive and non-invasive IoT devices. We are seeing the rise of wearable technologies that are becoming increasingly comfortable and easy to use, as well as the development of implantable sensors that can monitor patient health with little to no patient effort. These devices will enable more comprehensive long-term monitoring without disrupting patients’ daily lives.
This shift toward easy-to-use and patient-centric devices will likely lead to broader adoption of IoT in healthcare, especially among patients who may be reluctant to use more traditional medical devices.
Finally, as 5G networks continue to roll out globally, the connectivity capabilities of IoT devices will dramatically improve. The ultra-low latency and high data transfer speeds that 5G offers will enable real-time monitoring and communications on a scale never seen before.
This will enable more complex and data-intensive IoT applications in healthcare, such as real-time video monitoring of patients or continuous, high-definition imaging from wearable or implanted devices. The combination of 5G and IoT has the potential to redefine the possibilities of remote healthcare, moving us closer to a future where patients can receive hospital care anywhere in the world.
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