According to a report published by Deloitte, the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) is anticipated to reach USD158.1 billion in 2022. The internet of medical things is a connected infrastructure of inter-networked medical devices and healthcare information technology applications, which allows the collection, analysis, and transmission of data. IoMT and its relationship with MedTech enable healthcare organizations to enhance efficiency in operations, improve patient outcomes, and create new ways to engage and empower patients.

Remote patient monitoring of people with chronic illnesses, tracking of patient medication orders, wearable mHealth devices, infusion pumps connected to analytics dashboards, and hospital beds rigged with sensors to measure patients’ vital signs are all examples of IoMT technology. A growing number of applications, medical equipment, and supplies are inbuilt with near field communication (NFC) radio frequency identification (RFID) tags to transfer medical data over a secured network to either a cloud repository or internal servers. 

How is IoMT Changing Healthcare?

Just like the Internet of Things, IoMT leverages machine-based intelligence and automation to reduce reliance on human intervention, be it for routine monitoring operations or healthcare products. Providing flexibility to patients and providers, healthcare IoT drastically reduces the need to visit medical facilities, thus reducing medical costs.

The COVID-19 pandemic significantly prompted the adoption of IoMT, with an increased number of patients seeking treatment from home due to quarantine and stay-at-home orders. As the IoMT market matures, telehealth and telemedicine will evolve significantly, allowing more accurate diagnoses and timely care.