Internet of Health Things: Opportunities and Challenges
Emeka Chukwu, Lauit Garg, Ryan Zahra · 2022
This chapter discusses the information revolution and the related opportunities and challenges. It also discusses the inherent problems with healthcare systems that stem from the presence of multiple actors and how digital systems have attempted. Historically, across the globe, health has been about the patient getting well and remaining well. Most of the care provisions happen at the health facility, though trends are changing with the emergence of patient-centered care models. Traditional data collection, use, storage, and retrieval systems are paper based, though efforts are on to digitize these processes and records as much as possible. One significant limitation of the paper-based system is that only one person in the care continuum, in most cases at a different geographic location, can use the paper form or folder at any given time. The issues around human resources for health and their number, quality, and how to track and manage them have occupied the interests of policy makers across many jurisdictions.