Healthcare Internet of Things to Experience Exponential Growth

Thomas Beaton | Health IT Analytics | December 30, 2016

The opportunities for success within the healthcare Internet of Things continue to grow as investment in connected devices ramps up.

An increasing interest in healthcare Internet of Things (IoT) technologies that can foster patient engagement and improve patient management is likely to grow the global smart healthcare market into a $169.32 billion opportunity, according to a new Technavio report. Although organizations across multiple industries are still wary of the IoT’s potential security flaws, 71 percent of cross-industry enterprises are currently developing their IoT data stores, adds a survey by 451 Research, and the next 12 months are likely to bring a 33 percent increase in IoT infrastructure spending.

Healthcare providers have expressed hesitation about the day-to-day mechanics of collecting and analyzing data from Internet of Things devices, but the use cases for doing so are becoming increasingly clear. Technavio predicts that the IoT will become a critical tool for remote patient monitoring, especially as the population ages, and that smarter devices will combine with the consumerization of healthcare to produce meaningful opportunities to achieve ROI.

Many enterprises are already incorporating the IoT into their daily activities.  The 451 Research survey found that 68 percent of respondents are using IoT data to optimize operations, while 42 percent are using connected device data to create new products and services. Organizations are also preparing for the opportunities of the future by gathering big data and building out their analytics capabilities. Seventy-one percent of enterprises are now collecting IoT data, and 90 percent are planning to increase their spending on the IoT within the next year...