The adoption of connected health technology is growing at an astonishing rate, propelled in part by consumer demand, innovations in wearables and medical devices, and the current healthcare climate in the post-COVID-19 era.
With forecasts predicting the global connected health and wellness devices market will reach $612 billion by 2024, this sector is one of the fastest-growing in the IoT industry. In order to understand the buzz around connected health solutions, it’s important to understand exactly what connected health is and how it works.
Connected health commonly refers to a method of healthcare management that leverages technology for the delivery of healthcare services or management of medical conditions. Some notable examples of connected health include remote patient monitoring (RPM), decentralized clinical trials (DCTs), mobile personal emergency response systems (mPERS), and telemedicine.
“Connected medicine is on a mission to empower patients and providers alike, by changing how care is delivered and giving individuals the tools to manage their own care better,” writes Laura Landro, author of The Wall Street Journal’s Informed Patient column. “Rather than gather data about patients that just sits in their medical records, the aim is to mine that data to identify areas for improvement and create novel solutions.”
With so many varying use cases for connected health solutions — including mPERS, RPM, telemedicine, and clinical trials — there isn’t a one-size-fits-all model for how connected health is implemented. All connected use cases do, however, share the same general elements, and those are patients, providers, devices, connectivity, and platforms.
Connected health devices range from consumer-grade wearables to wireless implantable medical devices. Common connected medical devices include insulin pumps, blood pressure monitors, glucose monitors, pulse oximeters, personal ECG monitors, and more.
Medical devices used in connected health solutions use sensors and wireless connectivity to collect and transmit patient data, such as biometric readings, and that data is made available to healthcare providers or patients themselves in a cloud-based platform or application programming interface (API).
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The main advantages of connected healthcare are all centered around the patient’s experience with their care, and the degree to which both that patient and their providers can gain insights into their condition and treatments.
Improved Patient Monitoring and Outcomes:
Connected healthcare systems enable continuous monitoring of patients’ vital signs, medication adherence, and other health metrics. This real-time data allows healthcare providers to detect issues early, adjust treatments quickly, and ultimately improve patient outcomes. For patients with chronic conditions, this can mean fewer hospital visits and better management of their health.
Enhanced Communication Between Patients and Providers:
Through these devices, patients can share data remotely, reducing the need for in-person visits and enabling timely interventions. This ongoing communication fosters a stronger provider-patient relationship and ensures that care is more personalized and responsive to the patient’s needs.
Increased Efficiency and Reduced Costs:
Connected health devices can streamline various aspects of healthcare delivery by automating the collection and analysis of health data. Ultimately this reduces the workload on healthcare providers and minimizes the chance of errors. This efficiency can prevent costs for the healthcare providers and their patients, as it reduces the need for unnecessary tests, hospital stays, and emergency interventions.
Empowerment and Engagement for Patients:
These devices empower patients by giving them direct access to their health data. Patients can monitor their health metrics, track progress, and make informed decisions about their lifestyle and treatment. This increased engagement often leads to better adherence to treatment plans and a proactive approach to health management, which is critical for long-term well-being.
There are many ways that IoT Healthcare Solutions benefit both patients and providers.
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Although connected health adoption is surging across all use cases, there can be some major challenges in IoT Connected Health deployment. From regulatory compliance to vendor selection, hardware sourcing to secure connectivity, deploying connected health solutions requires a level of IoT expertise and logistical resources that many companies lack.
KORE helps healthcare and life sciences organizations stay ahead with the next generation of IoT technology. With decades of industry knowledge and experience, KORE enables connected health solutions with professional services to help companies deploy, manage, and scale.
Download the eBook, "Connected Health Powered by IoT", to learn more about the future of connected health industry segments, including mPERS, decentralized clinical trials, and telehealth.