The role of the Internet of Things in Healthcare in supporting clinicians and patients: A narrative review

Abstract

PurposeThis narrative review surveys the literature on the Internet of Things (IoT) in healthcare, organising it according to dominant trends to provide instructive examples of how the IoT is used. It extends previous categorisations, providing an extensive framework for understanding IoT implementation in healthcare. It reflects on the nature of the current work, IoT models, success factors and the challenges facing IoT implementation. DesignThis paper follows Wolfswinkel et al. (2013) in selecting relevant articles and categorising them into six categories as suggested by Balandina et al. (2015) and Laranjo (2013) and synthesising a list of success factors. FindingsThe paper illustrates a need for deeper theoretical and conceptual work in this area. It concludes that healthcare systems need to be ready, through establishing appropriate collaborations and identifying value propositions, to adopt the huge level of technological advancement and change that results from the IoT. When suitably implemented and considered, the IoT can provide immense benefits in personalised care - without increasing the burden on human resources. However, while inexpensive technologies such as smartphones and wearables can be a conduit for many benefits, they also increase threats to security and data privacy. Success factors involve recogniton of the need for new business models which address the shorter lifecycle of IoT product development. OriginalityOur work provides a summary of recent trends, analysis of success factors and insight into the type of work completed - not provided by previous literature, which will be valuable to both researchers and practitioners.