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B. Farahani et al.
hospitals prepare operating rooms or other needed tools in advance. In addition,
surgery could become more efficient and proactive if IoT were utilized to
exchange information and orchestrate activities among medical staff, physicians,
and medical devices in the operating room. In a similar vein, IoT could play a
role in other hospital areas such as the intensive care unit (ICU), primary care
unit (PCU), or other specialized areas.
• Clinics: Primary care physicians, the main source of healthcare for many patients,
could also benefit from IoT in many ways. Doctors could more efficiently access
virtual laboratory reports prior to examining a patient. IoT would also enable
physician offices to verify insurance coverage in real time or provide secure,
bidirectional communication for making appointments without the need for
telephone calls. IoT would also serve as a cost-efficient solution for connected
pre-visit screenings, enabling physicians to invest more quality time with individual patients. Doctors could also prescribe low-cost IoT smart devices designed
for self-testing at home.
• Anywhere (non-clinical settings): There is currently much excitement around
IoT’s role in telehealth or remote care, which benefits patients in exciting
ways:
– Mobile clinics: Interest in mobile clinics is growing worldwide. In African
countries mobile clinics have proven to provide high-quality, low-cost care for
at-risk populations without access to basic healthcare in rural areas. Because
mobile clinics have limited medical facilities, IoT could greatly improve their
infrastructure and capability for care by enabling them to collaborate with
hospitals remotely to make diagnoses or other treatment determinations [6].
– Telemedicine: Telemedicine is the primary stakeholder in IoT today. It is
estimated that the telemedicine market is worth approximately $23, 244
million worldwide. The telemedicine market is expected to expand by 18.8%
to reach a value of $66,606 million by 2021 [7]. Because most of the world’s
population has access to smartphones able to connect with other sensors, IoT
has much to offer in this area. Smartphones enable patients to self-test health
and generate data that can predict future health or disease issues. In addition,
doctors and medical staff can see patients virtually through teleconferencing.
In the future, IoT could further improve telemedicine with the addition of
networking sensors for tele-screening. An increase in virtual care services
would enable hospitals to function with fewer healthcare staff.
– Wellness: The well-known proverb that “an ounce of prevention is work a
pound of cure” is especially true in the area of healthcare. Many people are
beginning to understand that preventative care and maintaining wellness is
preferable to suffering or requiring preventable medical care later in life.
Around the world, patients are taking advantage of IoT connectivity via sports
technology, wearable fitness trackers, and self-testing medical devices that
provide continuous health and wellness monitoring. IoT could be useful in
creating an economic framework that reduces health insurance costs through
wellness rewards, based on health monitoring. Establishing a more efficient,
B. Farahani et al.
hospitals prepare operating rooms or other needed tools in advance. In addition,
surgery could become more efficient and proactive if IoT were utilized to
exchange information and orchestrate activities among medical staff, physicians,
and medical devices in the operating room. In a similar vein, IoT could play a
role in other hospital areas such as the intensive care unit (ICU), primary care
unit (PCU), or other specialized areas.
• Clinics: Primary care physicians, the main source of healthcare for many patients,
could also benefit from IoT in many ways. Doctors could more efficiently access
virtual laboratory reports prior to examining a patient. IoT would also enable
physician offices to verify insurance coverage in real time or provide secure,
bidirectional communication for making appointments without the need for
telephone calls. IoT would also serve as a cost-efficient solution for connected
pre-visit screenings, enabling physicians to invest more quality time with individual patients. Doctors could also prescribe low-cost IoT smart devices designed
for self-testing at home.
• Anywhere (non-clinical settings): There is currently much excitement around
IoT’s role in telehealth or remote care, which benefits patients in exciting
ways:
– Mobile clinics: Interest in mobile clinics is growing worldwide. In African
countries mobile clinics have proven to provide high-quality, low-cost care for
at-risk populations without access to basic healthcare in rural areas. Because
mobile clinics have limited medical facilities, IoT could greatly improve their
infrastructure and capability for care by enabling them to collaborate with
hospitals remotely to make diagnoses or other treatment determinations [6].
– Telemedicine: Telemedicine is the primary stakeholder in IoT today. It is
estimated that the telemedicine market is worth approximately $23, 244
million worldwide. The telemedicine market is expected to expand by 18.8%
to reach a value of $66,606 million by 2021 [7]. Because most of the world’s
population has access to smartphones able to connect with other sensors, IoT
has much to offer in this area. Smartphones enable patients to self-test health
and generate data that can predict future health or disease issues. In addition,
doctors and medical staff can see patients virtually through teleconferencing.
In the future, IoT could further improve telemedicine with the addition of
networking sensors for tele-screening. An increase in virtual care services
would enable hospitals to function with fewer healthcare staff.
– Wellness: The well-known proverb that “an ounce of prevention is work a
pound of cure” is especially true in the area of healthcare. Many people are
beginning to understand that preventative care and maintaining wellness is
preferable to suffering or requiring preventable medical care later in life.
Around the world, patients are taking advantage of IoT connectivity via sports
technology, wearable fitness trackers, and self-testing medical devices that
provide continuous health and wellness monitoring. IoT could be useful in
creating an economic framework that reduces health insurance costs through
wellness rewards, based on health monitoring. Establishing a more efficient,