By Carlos Rei, consultant for the Health segment at Logicalis
The Internet of Things (IoT) has been gaining strength in our daily lives and in various sectors of the economy. The health sector, for example, has numerous possibilities of applicability, especially with regard to the prevention of chronic diseases and the reduction of hospital infections – one of the main aggravating factors for the quality of life of patients and the high costs of institutions.
Therefore, we can say that the IoT is an important asset for the entire value chain of the sector, benefiting patients, hospitals, operators, research and development institutes, professionals and pharmaceutical laboratories. The technology allows communication between equipment and improves medical care, preventive diagnosis of diseases and surgeries, helping to save lives.
According to projections from the National IoT Plan, an initiative of BNDES, it is estimated that by 2025 the global health market will have a potential gain generated by the Internet of Things of US$ 1.7 trillion. In Brazil, it is estimated that the value could reach US$ 39 billion. The project prioritizes four segments – Manufacturing, Agribusiness, Smart Cities and Health -, the latter being the one that should take first place in terms of speed of adoption and implementation.
In fact, during the World Economic Forum for Latin America, held in March of this year, the Government announced measures to stimulate the pillars related to this technology in Brazil, among them, the immediate availability of credit lines of more than R$ 10 billion of the BNDES, Finep and Banco da Amazônia. The initiative will provide more intelligence in the provision of public and private services, training people, innovation, entrepreneurship, in addition to helping to position Brazil as a technology developer in the global market.
One of the applications of the Internet of Things, for example, allows the monitoring of patients remotely through wearable devices and cell phone applications. In order to quickly identify changes and reduce the incidence of serious diseases, the data collected can, in real time, feed the electronic medical record in hospitals or medical clinics, assisting in decision making.
The technology also helps chronically ill patients to have a better quality of life by enabling treatment at home, avoiding forgetting medication doses and reducing recurrent hospitalizations due to the disease. To give you an idea, in 2014, there were around 60 million chronic patients in Brazil, according to the National Health Survey (PNS), which proves the importance of investing in technologies like this.
More than that, the IoT contributes to the preservation of the health of hospitalized patients by reducing the number of hospital infections by encouraging hand hygiene by the institution's professionals. All this through the installation of simple processes and gel alcohol dispensaries connected by radiofrequency that monitor the recurrence with which each professional performs hygiene.
Another application of the technology aims at safer surgeries through the identification of each of the instruments used in the operating room. In addition, traceability helps in the management of OPME (Orthoses, Prostheses and Special Materials, devices and materials of high added value), which impact the high cost of hospitals. With IoT, it is possible to identify the exact location of each instrument, preventing, for example, that one of them is forgotten inside the patient.
There are also Big Data and Artificial Intelligence technologies, which analyze data collected from connected devices and correlate them with information from the medical literature, generating insights for the entire value chain. In this way, it is possible, for example, to identify Brazilian regions where there is a higher incidence of a certain pathology.
These technologies are already being implemented in several institutions in the sector, mainly in areas focused on patient care. Together, they will revolutionize medicine and people's lives, with a proven return on investment in hospitals and laboratories, as well as helping to reduce the rate of nosocomial infections. In a short time, it will be possible to access the entire patient history anytime and anywhere, based on information coming from connected devices. In other words, the medical record of a lifetime will be concentrated, allowing for a much more intelligent, assertive and individualized analysis. This will reduce visits to clinics and raise the quality of life to levels hitherto unknown.
Therefore, we can say that the IoT is an important asset for the entire value chain of the sector, benefiting patients, hospitals, operators, research and development institutes, professionals and pharmaceutical laboratories. The technology allows communication between equipment and improves medical care, preventive diagnosis of diseases and surgeries, helping to save lives.
According to projections from the National IoT Plan, an initiative of BNDES, it is estimated that by 2025 the global health market will have a potential gain generated by the Internet of Things of US$ 1.7 trillion. In Brazil, it is estimated that the value could reach US$ 39 billion. The project prioritizes four segments – Manufacturing, Agribusiness, Smart Cities and Health -, the latter being the one that should take first place in terms of speed of adoption and implementation.
In fact, during the World Economic Forum for Latin America, held in March of this year, the Government announced measures to stimulate the pillars related to this technology in Brazil, among them, the immediate availability of credit lines of more than R$ 10 billion of the BNDES, Finep and Banco da Amazônia. The initiative will provide more intelligence in the provision of public and private services, training people, innovation, entrepreneurship, in addition to helping to position Brazil as a technology developer in the global market.
One of the applications of the Internet of Things, for example, allows the monitoring of patients remotely through wearable devices and cell phone applications. In order to quickly identify changes and reduce the incidence of serious diseases, the data collected can, in real time, feed the electronic medical record in hospitals or medical clinics, assisting in decision making.
The technology also helps chronically ill patients to have a better quality of life by enabling treatment at home, avoiding forgetting medication doses and reducing recurrent hospitalizations due to the disease. To give you an idea, in 2014, there were around 60 million chronic patients in Brazil, according to the National Health Survey (PNS), which proves the importance of investing in technologies like this.
More than that, the IoT contributes to the preservation of the health of hospitalized patients by reducing the number of hospital infections by encouraging hand hygiene by the institution's professionals. All this through the installation of simple processes and gel alcohol dispensaries connected by radiofrequency that monitor the recurrence with which each professional performs hygiene.
Another application of the technology aims at safer surgeries through the identification of each of the instruments used in the operating room. In addition, traceability helps in the management of OPME (Orthoses, Prostheses and Special Materials, devices and materials of high added value), which impact the high cost of hospitals. With IoT, it is possible to identify the exact location of each instrument, preventing, for example, that one of them is forgotten inside the patient.
There are also Big Data and Artificial Intelligence technologies, which analyze data collected from connected devices and correlate them with information from the medical literature, generating insights for the entire value chain. In this way, it is possible, for example, to identify Brazilian regions where there is a higher incidence of a certain pathology.
These technologies are already being implemented in several institutions in the sector, mainly in areas focused on patient care. Together, they will revolutionize medicine and people's lives, with a proven return on investment in hospitals and laboratories, as well as helping to reduce the rate of nosocomial infections. In a short time, it will be possible to access the entire patient history anytime and anywhere, based on information coming from connected devices. In other words, the medical record of a lifetime will be concentrated, allowing for a much more intelligent, assertive and individualized analysis. This will reduce visits to clinics and raise the quality of life to levels hitherto unknown.
Disclaimer: The opinion presented in this article is the responsibility of its author and not of ABES - Brazilian Association of Software Companies
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