Understanding the predictors of adoption of IoT healthcare services

Abstract

IoT is a world-wide network of interconnected objects uniquely addressable, based on standard communication protocols. IoT in healthcare provides timely and increased, nearly instantaneous communication between physicians, hospitals, vendors, insurance companies and other stakeholders via interconnected devices, wireless networks and related IT companies that provide support for data analytics for alleviating and ameliorating the lives of patients in particular and other stakeholders in general. IoT based healthcare services can be instrumental in saving lives in case of accidents as the golden hour requires communicating to the hospitals regarding the location and nature of the emergency and the patient’s health statistics. IoT, with its interconnected and possible real-time transmission of the health parameters of the patients, can help the patients in case of accidents and other acute health attacks such as stroke and cardiac arrests. Healthcare is an information-intensive industry and healthcare professionals rely on access to comprehensive and accurate information, at the point of care, to make the daily decisions about a person’s care. IoT applied to the healthcare sector (IoT healthcare) promises to bring marked changes in the quality, safety, accountability, and even the way in which healthcare services are delivered. Although still in its initial stages of development, the impact of IoT in healthcare has been significant. Recent studies found that IoT healthcare will add about $117 billion to the global healthcare economy by 2020. IoT devices offer heightened accountability for healthcare providers. They also improve the outcomes and reduce the ballooning costs which are the main aims of health care advocates, policymakers, and insurance companies.