How the IoT can change the future of healthcare

Research by Aruba, a company of Hewlett Packard Enterprise, shows that six out of ten global healthcare organizations are already benefiting from the advantages offered by Internet of Things (IoT). Chances are that you’ve already seen a nurse at your bedside who had access to your X-ray data from a mobile phone, or that patients are equipped with real-time location systems that inform family as soon as they leave the operating room. That’s IoT in practice.

One of the great advantages of IoT that healthcare professionals have experienced so far is the ability to monitor and maintain medical equipment via sensors. IoT in care is definitely not a toy. For example, inventory management is changing the way hospitals operate and deal with their equipment.

Suppose every nurse in the whole world saves only five minutes during her shift. This would have a huge positive impact on efficiency, costs and quality of care. This allows hospitals to make much better use of their resources. All this at a time when they’re under constant pressure. It also allows the nursing staff to spend more time treating patients rather than looking for equipment. If all this is possible with this technology, the stakes are a no-brainer, right?

Dutch hospitals are innovating

IoT offers the healthcare sector enormous opportunities. The Medisch Spectrum Twente is a good example. It’s a hospital, but wants to use the same yardstick as a hotel. Each patient has their own room with bathroom, gets an iPad at intake and can order food at any time they want, call friends and family and see the progress of their treatment on the tablet.

Together with HPE Aruba, the Martini Hospital in Groningen developed a stable network for the entire hospital. This network provides employees with a complete picture of the equipment on the network and quick access to patient records. The hospital is currently working on a full Internet of Things strategy. To this end, it researches technologies such as routing and tracing medical equipment and materials. The hospital is also investigating an application that informs customers in real time about waiting times. It also looks at the possibilities of transferring the monitoring of patients with telemetry equipment to the WiFi network, in order to avoid unnecessary delays.

The common denominator of these two examples is that leaders in the healthcare sector realize that IoT saves costs with cheaper alternatives to expensive, traditional equipment. Furthermore, connecting equipment to networks improves accessibility and increases the accuracy of data collection and analysis.

Unlimited possibilities

Another way in which IoT is changing the care for patients in hospitals is the monitoring of equipment. Machines that do not function properly report this via IoT independently to engineers. These are then repaired immediately, so that treatments are minimally disturbed. Sensors are also used to monitor the temperature in laboratories, refrigerators and departments. This allows employees to easily regulate the temperature for the entire building.

IoT makes managing hospitals easier, but also contributes to better patient care. For example, patients with implanted glucose monitor systems receive their data at fixed times via their phone. This way they can better treat their diabetes.

Overcoming IoT risks

With the above results, it is not surprising that IoT is currently growing rapidly. The expectation is that in 2019 87 percent of the healthcare organisations will use some form of IoT, but the safety risks, also for the data in hospitals, remain a bump that has to be taken. A remarkable result from the Aruba survey is that 89 percent of the organizations that are at the forefront with IoT also had related security problems. In order to prevent the fear of security risks from casting a shadow over the growth and innovation of IoT, it is important to neutralize human errors and malware.

Although the security risks of IoT are real, there is certainly something that can be done about them. Hospitals that use network monitoring to collect data from all network equipment can provide controlled access to different users at multiple levels. In this way, they ensure that only authorised users are granted access. In this way, organizations also have real-time insight into the activities of equipment and possible risks.

In the discussion about the effects of IoT, the research results show that healthcare organizations that started IoT earlier achieve better results than organizations that are just starting now. Companies that already use IoT benefit from more efficiency and profitability. This underlines the value of this technology. However, this does not mean that they can sit back, because just as with any other new technology, growing pains cannot be avoided before healthcare organizations start experiencing the benefits of IoT.

The new normal

The development of IoT in the healthcare sector is impressive. At the same time, this shows only a small part of the enormous potential that this technology has. A mix of the right technological solutions ensures that the healthcare sector can retain its momentum and continue to push the boundaries of IoT. The future benefits of IoT in healthcare are infinite, not only operational, but also for the quality of care.

Under the wings of Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Aruba offers everything in terms of secure networks, wired and wireless and in a powerful mobile engine. The starting point for all Aruba innovations is a secure always-on network. By making the environment safe and smart, the foundation is created on which users can continue to innovate.

Click here for more information about the new network of the Martini Hospital and its platform for innovation.