Many of you probably already know the concept Internet of Things. This topic is not new, but has been gaining more attention and traction lately. IoT entails the use of electronic devices that capture or monitor data and are connected to a private or public cloud, enabling them to automatically trigger certain events (Chouffani, 2016). Regarding healthcare, IoT has the potential to revolutionise the healthcare industry by allowing patients to self-monitor their conditions with in-home sensors and wearable devices.
Internet-connected devices have been introduced to patients in various forms. Whether data comes from fetal monitors, electrocardiograms, temperature monitors or blood glucose levels, tracking health information is vital for some patients. Many of these measures require follow-up interaction with a healthcare professional. This creates an opening for smarter devices to deliver more valuable data, lessening the need for direct patient-physician interaction. Exactly at this point, IoT comes into play. Some hospitals have begun implementing ‘smart beds’ that detect when they are occupied and when patients are attempting to get up. Another recent example comes from the start-up Dymaxia, which tries to use the cloud, IoT and wearable devices to help autistic people manage anxiety (Donnelly, 2016).
While future advantages are clearly wide ranging, IoT implementations also raises concerns around data privacy and security. While most of today’s devices use secure methods to communication information to the cloud, they could still be vulnerable to hackers.
Although, business opportunities of IoT are exciting and transformational, I personally think it is important for companies to get ahead of the privacy and security issues first. The IoT is exploding, and if businesses that are benefitting from it do not get ahead of these issues, their customers will become victims of their own success. Only after privacy and security issues are resolved the number of adopters of IoT in healthcare will explode and popularity will undeniably rise. What is your opinion?
References
Hi Laura, thank you for your article! It is very interesting to see the applications of IT in healthcare, since it is such a shifting environment. I agree with you on the potential privacy and security risks, and I think that it would be advisable for the developers of such systems to discuss the potential with, for example, companies from the banking sector. Even though the type of data differs, healthcare-system developers could learn from the way banks keep their data safe from hackers. What is, in my opinion, also a very important factor to consider, is the fact that healthcare is very much a people’s business. Proper care for sick or otherwise disabled people is so delicate that I am not sure if IT is up for this task. Imagine one of those smart beds somehow failing and a bed being occupied with no one knowing it? I think that it is very important that those systems are developed and tested extensively before using them in real hospitals.
Dear Laura, thank you for your post! I fully agree with you – I think IoT has enormous potential, but only after privacy and security issues have been resolved. I think it is amazing that there are now systems in place that help help patients to track their health even better so they can live as normal as possible or best treat a disease, but without ensure of privacy, it might be risky to use these systems, as consequences can be fatal if a system gets hacks.