Healthcare providers and manufacturers can no longer afford to ignore the revolutionary impact of the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) and its role in creating a new future for healthcare.
IoMT creates a large network of connected medical devices and systems that seamlessly communicate with each other in real-time to enable remote patient monitoring, telehealth, and advanced workflow management.
The healthcare industry is poised to shift from a reactive to a proactive intervention approach, which can save lives and empower medical service providers to improve patient care outcomes.
Establishing a Solid IoMT Foundation and Tips to Overcome Pitfalls
However, IoMT implementation is also challenging for providers. Whether you’re struggling with deploying sensors, finding a reliable IoT connectivity provider, building a robust infrastructure, interoperability issues, or security issues – we’re here to help you navigate these common challenges and pitfalls.
First, let’s break down the elements to build a solid foundation for your IoMT implementation.
Choose a Robust IoMT Infrastructure: Cloud vs On-Premises Solutions
Your IoMT infrastructure is the backbone that holds you up. You must get this foundational element right to win half your battle. This includes your hardware, software, and your network capability.
Invest in scalable infrastructure that can adapt to your evolving needs to ensure returns in the long term.
Cloud solutions can ensure storage capacity and scalability. On the other hand, an on-premises solution can give you enhanced control over your data but would require technical expertise from your team.
Identify the Right Use Cases for your Business
The next element is selecting the right use cases to suit your current and future business goals. IoMT has diverse and extensive applications in healthcare, so narrow down to the use cases that fully align with your needs. Some of the common use cases include:
- Remote patient monitoring: Remotely monitor patient vitals and enable healthcare professionals to take proactive action.
- Prescription and lab report management: Easily manage patient prescriptions and lab reports and get live alerts
- Fall detection and monitoring for home care or senior care: IoMT sensors can easily detect falls, bed-in/bed-out times, or even sleep quality for home care or senior care providers.
- Real-time alarms for critical situations: Get real-time alerts to the right staff at the right time based on predictive analytics and remote patient monitoring
- Streamline operational workflow and efficiency: With IoMT and AI, get a customized dashboard to streamline patient intake and management, staff management, and automated notifications when supplies run low.
- Telehealth: Save costs and use telehealth monitoring system to provide quality patient care outcomes in a fraction of the time.
These are just some of the common use cases. Spend some time to figure out exactly what you need as you scale up.
Fixing Interoperability Issues During Implementation
A common pitfall that many businesses fail to anticipate is interoperability issues that prevent devices from connecting to the cloud. Some manufacturers use proprietary systems that don’t allow different devices to seamlessly connect. Choose a reliable IoMT connectivity provider and ensure standardized communication protocols.
Plan for Effective Management of Data Volume
Some companies fail to anticipate the sheer data volume generated by IoMT devices. Not all the data can or will be useful for analytics. This is where a cloud service can help you with expanded storage. Ensure that your IoT data analytics has the power to sift through large amounts of data while also ensuring accessibility.
Train your Staff and Establish Feedback Loops
Establish a hands-on and robust training protocol for your staff and healthcare professionals. This is critical to the continued success of your IoMT implementation. Take a collaborative approach where you collect regular feedback from your staff. This feedback loop will help streamline your IoMT system and improve productivity. After all, a successful IoMT platform will meet the needs of the people who use it daily.
Now that you’re all set with our tips to manage the challenges that come with IoMT implementation, let’s get to the steps to implement your IoMT solution with zero hassle.
5 Simple Steps for a Successful IoMT Implementation Process
Here’s a simple step-by-step guide to implementing your IoMT solution and ensure continued success and benefits long after implementation.
Step 1: Set very clear business objectives
Define your goals from the outset. Your goals should be SMART – Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound.
In addition, take a 360-degree view of all aspects like cost of ownership, patient engagement, patient care outcomes, and cost savings. This will help you measure the right KPIs and improve your IoMT systems in the future too.
Step 2: Choose the right connected healthcare provider
This is one of the most critical steps. IoMT implementation demands a lot of technical expertise. A recent study found that 46% of companies say that lack of skill and technical expertise is a top barrier to their IoT implementation.
Finding the right IoMT connectivity and connected healthcare provider can help your IoMT solution stand the test of time and reap benefits into the future.
Step 3: Right integration with existing systems
Your IoMT devices and IoMT platform will have to integrate with your existing software like Electronic Health Record (EHR) systems. To ensure a smooth transition, the right IoMT platform developers can customize solutions to reduce your burden and minimize chances of failures.
Step 4: Ensure regulatory compliance and security
Verify the security and encryption measures provided to ensure that your sensitive patient data is safe from breaches and is only accessible to the right people. Ask your IoT solution provider for a protocol to handle security breaches as well.
You’ll also need to ensure that your IoMT solution is compliant with state and federal regulatory requirements like HIPAA and GDPR.
Step 5: Train your staff and monitor and iterate your IoMT solution
Proper training can ensure that your staff and healthcare providers reap the full benefits of your IoMT implementation.
Never underestimate the importance of regular monitoring of your IoMT solution. This scrutiny helps you avoid larger problems and streamline your IoMT use for advanced patient care outcomes. Leverage the power of data analytics to assess the health and performance of your devices.
Establish a feedback loop with all key stakeholders, which will help improve the functionality and adaptability of your IoMT solution.
How Can Bridgera’s IoMT Expertise Help You?
We bring nearly a decade’s expertise in serving our clients from the healthcare industry across niches like Health tech device manufacturers, hospitals and clinics, and clinical trial platforms.
Our IoMT solution is white-label and fully customized for each client to fit their needs. We offer ongoing support and troubleshooting even after implementation.
Want to get a customized IoT Proof of Concept (PoC) in just two weeks? Schedule a demo with our experts to get more information.
About Bridgera: Bridgera effortlessly combines innovation and expertise to deliver cutting-edge solutions using connected intelligence. We engineer experiences that go beyond expectations, equipping our clients with the tools they need to excel in an increasingly interconnected world. Since our establishment in 2015, Bridgera, headquartered in Raleigh, NC, has specialized in crafting and managing tailored SaaS solutions for web, mobile, and IoT applications across North America.
About Author: Krishna Varma is a writer and researcher, who enjoys writing about technology, IoT, and lifestyle. When she isn’t writing and reading, you’ll find her relaxing with a quiet cup of tea over the weekends.