On top of cross-departmental data sharing, the boom of smartwatches and fitness accessories is also generating data at a quick pace. On top of this, Sukumar says that some trips to hospitals can be avoided, and treatment can be carried out in the comfort of the home. “Connectivity solutions are increasingly acting as a catalyst for DIY care and we’re seeing early trends of DIY care, overseen by a professional and not “Dr. Google”, become more and more common. “Many tests, consultations and even treatments can now be carried out in your own home – dialysis and even some types of chemotherapy, for example. This means patients can avoid the risk, cost, and time investment of travelling to hospitals while relieving pressure on hospital staff.” “It’s clear that the future of healthcare is data-led - data-driven innovations are already helping to improve our health services for both doctors and patients, and they will continue to do so,” said Roland Harvey, Enterprise Account Executive, LogicMonitor. “Connected devices and the Internet of Things (IoT) are driving improvements in telemedicine, improving the speed and quality of how patients are seen with digital triage and virtual care, such as remote sensors that allow doctors to monitor a chronic patient’s vitals without them needing to visit the hospital. With remote and IoT devices generating copious data for predicting patient needs, doctors can lean on data analysis to improve patient outcomes. “AI is another technology which is rapidly growing in the health space. AI is already used in online chatbots for patients, as well as in diagnostics and scans, however with more efficient data usage its role could soon be expanded to automatic triage and prescription handling, alleviating busy doctors who can focus on more expert diagnoses. AI and Machine Learning are also being trialled in the pharmaceutical industry, where ML-infused data analytics is streamlining drug testing and prototyping processes. Security Naturally, with all this data, security also comes into the fray. Medical records are some of the hardest datasets to get your hands on, or at least they should be, and any breaches can result in serious consequences. “One of the major concerns related to
Connectivity solutions are increasingly acting as a catalyst for DIY care and we’re seeing early trends of DIY care, overseen by a professional and not “ Dr. Google”, become more and more common.
connecting hospitals is addressing security,” said Sukumar. “In high-paced environments where agility and change are important, a lot of money can be spent to improve connectivity, however, that can often come at the expense of security. “For example, any smart device, whether it’s a headset or a smartwatch, contains a chip with software and connectivity, leaving it open to vulnerabilities. If we consider medical devices, such as hearing aids, pacemakers or insulin pumps, the same potential vulnerability exists, only with much higher consequences. “While the loss of data is, for any company, a nightmare situation, there are potentially far more dangerous and even fatal consequences for the patient whose device has been hacked. For example, even if a hospital were to have hundreds of success stories, a few failures could kill the entire adoption of a therapy. It’s therefore essential that robust, trustworthy security protocols are in place and cyber resilience conversations start happening in hospitals.”
Edge Technologies Looking forward, technologies like
Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality are already starting to contribute to training surgeons, offering an affordable way to get doctors trained. “We’re also seeing augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) begin to revolutionise medical training, especially with regard to surgery,” said Harvey. “Through the generation of entire virtual spaces with digital twins, we can create risk-free environments for surgeons to practise complex procedures, boosting surgery success rates in hospitals. “AR/VR can also open new possibilities for triage, as doctors can demonstrate
Dr Iain McCowan Director of AI
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