With advances in the medical field happening at such a fast pace, it is only normal for companies in this industry to try and create new products in order to ease the work of anyone in the healthcare business. The Internet of Things (IoT) has truly contributed to this change and there are so many different ways that it can be of help to both healthcare practitioners and patients.
By taking into consideration the large demand for product creation and improvement of current conditions, it is only normal to expect there to be various challenges as well as opportunities in store for MedTech companies in the field. Here are some of the most common examples.
#1. Insufficient funds for upgrading to new IoT systems
One of the most common challenges MedTech companies come across when it comes to incorporating new IoT systems is the lack of funds from the organization. When a hospital is not even able to focus on improving its infrastructure so that the environment is safe for their patients, it is very likely that they would rather not spend their funds on IoT systems.
When it comes to incorporating custom IoT development in healthcare, there also need to be the right people who will be able to describe the discipline and practices of information technology within organizations and keep every practitioner up to date with each system that is being installed. For an institution with insufficient funds, hiring the right employees to do that job could be impossible.
This could serve as an opportunity for MedTech companies to provide the hospitals and other healthcare facilities they work with, with trained professionals who will be able to teach the staff how to handle their products. While this will be a temporary help, it can give them the time to work out the systems and get to know how to use them to their advantage.
#2. Healthcare projects that are never completed
Another issue that is usually found when it comes to IoT development in healthcare is the lack of completed projects. While the demand for new systems is big and the benefits that come for both the users and the developers can be many, there are plenty of projects that never manage to meet the light of day.
This is greatly connected to bad planning and big promises from the companies’ sides. When a developer starts putting together a project without having a set plan or an idea or a goal, the project is very much likely to fall through.
Projects that are not completed might have reached that point either because of bad planning techniques or a lack of funds from the MedTech Company that is developing it. The best way to avoid this is to first of all plan the whole development process very carefully and to also create enough hype at the beginning of the project’s creation so that the company can gather enough funds in order to make it come to life.
![IoT Development in Healthcare: Challenges and Opportunities for MedTech Companies 1 Medtech and healthcare projects](/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/healthcare-projects-iot-development.jpg)
#3. Unsuccessful projects in the industry
Apart from those projects that never manage to reach the hands of healthcare practitioners around the world, there are also quite a few projects which, while completed, fail to reach the expectations of not only their users but also their creators.
When a company starts creating a new IoT system without taking into consideration important factors such as the needs of the patients they are tending to and by extent the needs of the facilities they are working with, their projects can end up being unsuccessful simply because they didn’t manage to meet the customers’ demands.
A simple example to keep in mind is that of the lack of flexibility certain companies show when it comes to making their products available worldwide. Localization is important in this business and can help make an innovation all the more successful by making it available to more healthcare facilities around the world and services such as PickWriters can help make the process very easy for any MedTech business that wishes to provide their customers with that option.
Each company has to have certain business objectives they need to follow and they can create the perfect opportunity for success. Taking them into consideration is a big part of making sure all the effort that is being put into developing a new system does not go to waste.
#4. Increased possibilities for data theft and loss
Internet of Things systems are created in order to make the healthcare system better for both the patients and the healthcare practitioners. While this is something very positive, it can very easily become a problem when it comes to making sure all the patient data being collected is secure.
Hackers are a very big issue for these databases as they can easily have access to classified, personal information of thousands of patients at a time if the healthcare facility is not careful enough about keeping it safe or even aware of the ways through which they can achieve that.
This can become a great opportunity for each MedTech business to develop their individual means of protecting this precious data that the hospitals are supposed to keep private. By creating the right initiatives and showing the healthcare facilities how to keep those safe and secure, these companies can both aid to their customers’ needs and increase their overall profit.
![IoT Development in Healthcare: Challenges and Opportunities for MedTech Companies 2 IoT development for MedTech](/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/iot-medtech.jpg)
#5. Need for additional data storage in Medtech
The large amounts of data generated by the different Internet of Things systems are not easy for each hospital to store if they do not have the right equipment prepared. Some of the most common reasons why many IoT systems are created are the reduction of patient waiting times, more complete patient histories and status updates on various medical devices patients use both inside and outside the walls of a hospital.
MedTech companies should always make sure to inform the facilities they work with that the amounts of data they will be receiving from these systems will possibly be much larger than what they expected. Therefore, it is a good idea for them to equip them appropriately and help them be able to verify the quality and sources of the data they include in their storage.
#6. Shaping the future for new MedTech companies
The healthcare industry is always going to be in need of new technologies which can make the practitioners’ work easier and quicker to organize while still serving the patients and their needs. The challenges MedTech companies will face are bound to not be few, but they can serve as a means of creating new opportunities for improvement and development of new systems.