At the moment, we are all concerned about the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). Until now more than 1 million people have been tested positive for COVID-19 and more than 79,000 people have died because of this pandemic. So far, social distancing is the most effective way to prevent this virus. But for those people who are connected with healthcare like doctors and nurses, they have to engage with a lot of regular patients along with COVID-19 infected patients. They are at high risk because of our in-person care system. Telemedicine and IoMT can ease their situation a bit.
Telemedicine, one of the best ways to get healthcare from remote places is not a new method. Telemedicine was first introduced in the 20th century. A healthcare system where healthcare professionals have the capability to evaluate, diagnose and treat a patient from a remote location and the patient has the ability to easily access the medical expertise quickly, efficiently and without any communication hazard with the help of telecommunication technology.
IoMT is the abbreviation of the Internet of Medical Things which is under the domain of the Internet of Things (IoT). IoMT is also known as healthcare IoT. IoMT is the collection of medical devices and applications that connect to healthcare IT systems through online computer networks. Medical devices equipped with WiFi allow the machine to machine communication that is the basis of IoMT. IoMT devices link to cloud platforms on which captured data can be stored and analyzed.
Telemedicine had gained favor to combat the high healthcare costs and lack of patient access to care even prior to the emergence of COVID-19. According to Mordor Intelligence, the telemedicine market will be worth more than $66 billion globally by 2021. And according to the Accenture 2019 Digital Health Consumer Survey, 29% of respondents have used some form of virtual care up from 21% in 2017. But the emergence of highly contagious coronavirus has accelerated telehealth adoption, virtually overnight. Cleveland Clinic, for example, had expected more than 60,000 telehealth visits in March, compared with 3,400 in the prior period. That’s more than a 1,700% increase.
IoMT gives us the opportunity to get better quality, higher personalized and cost-effective healthcare services. Cost-effective IoMT gives patients the opportunity to get healthcare services by their connected devices. It is less time-consuming and reduces the hassle to wait in front of the doctor’s chamber. The patients can get the consultation remotely. IoMT enables devices to monitor a person 24/7, which send frequent data about the person’s health. Advances in biosensor technology make possible wearable smart devices that monitor the user’s health. Whether embedded in clothing, attached to the skin or implanted in the body IoMT sensors give patients freedom, while maintaining close watch on their health conditions. This data helps the health care personnel to make an advanced decision about the upcoming diseases. It prevents diseases from spreading out in a certain area. Moreover, IoMT helps to improve the supply chain management of drugs.
Modern problems require modern solutions. Telemedicine and IoMT are the future of our healthcare system. These can make our life easier especially when there is a pandemic spreading like COVID-19.