Description

Healthcare organizations face numerous challenges in today’s dynamic business environment, be it clinical, non-clinical or operational processes in hospitals. The industry is fundamentally focusing on digital transformational strategies, while increasing its investments in next-generation solutions such as clinical information systems, connected devices and digital engagement tools to meet evolving customer necessities across the continuum of care. Megatrends of 2017 ? which include artificial intelligence, personal virtual assistants, data as a service, and connected living for smart homes ? present a great opportunity for companies that are able to leverage these best technologies and services.

Role of Connectivity in Healthcare:
Connectivity is redefining the way healthcare is delivered with the advent of Internet of Things (IoT), mHealth apps, health wearables, in-home self-monitoring tools, and social networking capabilities. Connected health has the potential to radically transform healthcare delivery, allowing consumers to be more engaged and empowered than ever before. However, with wide spread concerns about issues such as ease of use, reliability, privacy and security, successful deployment of digital health strategies is clogged. Now more than ever, it is crucial to focus on how we use and interact with digital health technologies to empower consumers to manage their health conditions, enabling them to design and deliver their own health and care services while making them less dependent on healthcare providers.

In Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) a major technology leveraging connectivity is IoT. In healthcare, 60% of organizations around the world have already adopted this technology in some form – either as smart energy meters or as smart patient monitoring solutions. Healthcare is one of the industries that face significant disruption by IoT, and yet is only partially aware of the advancements, the potential, and its benefits. Application areas for IoT in healthcare, or the IoMT, cover the entire healthcare ecosystem - on body, in home, community, in clinic, and in hospital. The healthcare IoT landscape begins from simple remote monitoring technologies to smart bio-sensors and connected medical devices' integration with enterprise hospital IT systems. The technology has the potential to not only ensure patient safety in the overall care process, but also to improve the process how physicians deliver accurate care. These are a few applications on healthcare IoT that can help providers deliver better care for their patients. There is definitely much scope for IoT in the healthcare sector.

Frost & Sullivan conducted a World Café discussion at Medica Health IT Forum’s Green Stage on November 14, 2017, between 11 am and 2 pm. This is a synopsis of the major themes related to connectivity and IoMT discussed with a focused group of attendees of the World Café event.