The Internet of Things

The concepts behind the phrase “internet of things” (IoT) has been around for ten years among information and communication (ICT) professionals.  Put very simply it is about assigning any tool, device, machine or building — things — a unique electronic identifier so that these can be connected to electronic networks such the Internet or the telephone system.   Being able to monitor air conditioning performance in a building from another location or from your smartphone is an example of how IoT may work. IoT has the potential to radically change health system productivity.  All smartphones and tablets, for example, have an Internet Protocol (IP) address enabling doctors and nurses to exchange administrative, health and patient information.  Examples from other sectors include smart grid for optimising energy consumption at home and the emergence of intelligent vehicles.  Cisco Systems Inc. predicts that by 2020, 50 billion devices will be connected to the Internet and this will generate huge volumes of data. The more data that is created, the more knowledge people can derive.  IoT dramatically increases the amount of data available for people to process.  Data analytics and Big Data are currently emerging as two of the main ways to handle such huge volumes.  So focusing on the health system and health care delivery the implications of IoT include the following: Small wearable device worn by all nursing home residents across the country to monitor hear...
Source: Society for Participatory Medicine - Category: Journals (General) Authors: Tags: Editorial Newsletter Source Type: news