Unified Solutions and the IoT Movement in Healthcare
Advancing technology has created a need for complex computer infrastructures. As a result, strong network systems are required to create a stable foundation for IoT systems. IoT, or Internet of Things, is a concept where physical “things’ have sensors, software, and other technologies that allows them to connect with other “things”, creating a well-connected environment.
The market for portable and remote patient monitoring has increased over the past few years. Additionally, the increase has accelerated considerably by the COVID-19 pandemic. According to Digital Optometrics, more than half of the hospitals in the United States have a remote patient monitoring system.
Taking this into consideration, now more than ever it is important to have a strong network system to support remotely connected systems in the healthcare environment. Along with integrated systems, IoT creates a unique solution for increasing efficiency and connectivity. With the help of a strong network, connected systems such as climate control, access control, communications and more, can be unified.
Control All Systems from a Single, Unified Dashboard
A notable benefit of connecting systems together, is a unified dashboard. This allows building managers to control several facility systems from a single dashboard. This creates a convenient and efficient solution to managing high-paced facilities such as a hospital. Furthermore, this allows for systems to be controlled and monitored remotely, anytime, anywhere.
Increased Security without Increasing Cost
Designated building authorities can track activity in specific areas directly from their dashboard. This facilitates a safer environment without having to increase the number of guards. Additionally, integrating access control with video motion systems alerts authorities to anomalies such as wandering patients.
Predictive Maintenance
Maintenance costs can pose as a huge liability for many organizations. To avoid extra costs linked to system break downs, sensors can detect building performance and send alerts to the dashboard. As a result, building managers can schedule maintenance procedures before a system breaks down, mitigating the risk for unexpected maintenance costs. In addition, building managers can also track how the building is operating and implement maintenance procedures based on the building data.
Future-Proof your Facility
As mentioned, buildings are becoming increasingly reliant on a strong network foundation. IoT has paved the way for the next biggest trend in the healthcare sector, remote patient monitoring. For an example, robots can deliver the necessary medication while the doctor focuses on diagnoses and following up with patients. This allows doctors to spread out their time, serving more patients and creating a more efficient way to treat patients.
For instance, in 2020, a long-term care facility did not have a strong enough network system to handle the increased amount of video calls due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, patients could not contact their loved ones, creating distress. This solidified how crucial it is for long-term care and healthcare facilities to have enough bandwidth to sustain the amount of usage in any circumstance.
Conclusion
The benefits of a unified solution goes beyond just keeping up with technology movements such as internet of things. It facilitates a more reliable healthcare environment by increasing the nodes of communication between systems. Furthermore, unified display, increased security measures and predictive maintenance are only a few valuable additives that unified solutions can bring to your facility. To conclude, IoT creates a necessary foundation for connected systems. To achieve unified solutions it is crucial to first have a strong base network for IoT, which then can transform into a seamlessly unified facility.
Source: https://digitaloptometrics.com/interesting-telemedicine-statistics/
Check out our previous post: https://delcosecurity.com/2021/12/20/reasons-why-smaller-companies-do-better-than-large-corporations/