Harnessing the power of Internet of Things based connectivity to improve healthcare

Connectivity and interoperability are vital design characteristics of any Information and Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructure. Today, Internet of Things (IoT) technologies are being integrated with various types of medical systems in order to provide costeffective, ubiquitous, on-time healthcare services to people who need them. Presently, the healthcare system has evolved into a complex ecosystem which consists of a wide range of devices, databases, communication technologies that work together to provide different healthcare services. In many healthcare information systems, these technologies and resources need to interact and collaborate with or without human intervention to enable the healthcare system to achieve its goal of providing efficient healthcare services. The Internet of Things technology has the potential to provide connectivity for a global network of billions of devices and it can therefore be harnessed to improve the quality and delivery of healthcare services. We explore and discuss how IoT-based connectivity can deliver improved healthcare solutions. We describe IoT-based healthcare solutions that have been implemented recently. Finally, we discuss future opportunities that can be explored for improved healthcare solutions based on the IoT concept. (C) 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

Connectivity and interoperability are crucial in ICT infrastructure, particularly in healthcare systems where IoT technologies are integrated for efficient and cost-effective services. The complex ecosystem of healthcare information systems can benefit from IoT-based solutions to improve quality and delivery of healthcare services. Future opportunities in healthcare solutions can be explored through IoT connectivity.