IoT and Connected Health in healthcare delivery: Are we prepared?

The HIMSS 2016 juggernaut gets underway this very week in the state of Las Vegas. The occasion is a barometer, among other things, of trends and problems defining technology in healthcare delivery. This year, 1 of the exhibition themes is the Connected Health.

To comprehend this, we require looking at the convergence of various socio-economic forces as well as industry trends in healthcare.

Let’s begin by observing at the definition of Connected Health. While the term means different things to different persons, it is utilized commonly to explain the enablement of healthcare delivery through better communication between stakeholders, mainly sufferers and contributors, through connected tools. Significantly, the term is more than merely mHealth or telehealth, 2 other terms that are commonly utilized in relation to connected health.

A couple of high-level trends driving Connected Health (or cHealth, as few have began calling it) are:

1. The shift from episodic, in-person encounters between sufferers and contributors to an "anytime, anywhere" mode of care delivery. In specific, Millennials are defining this experiencewith their lifestyle and preferences.


2. The proliferation of entire latest classes of devices (Internet of Things or IoT) that can link to 1 another in the context of a connected health program.