As many as 97% of healthcare organisations believe that the Internet of Things (IoT) will be the foremost technological enhancement they will experience this decade.
Despite reports suggesting companies are not prepared to upgrade to IoT, the Zebra Technologies survey revealed that as many as 90% were prepared to make the necessary changes to implement IoT solutions.
Currently, over half of healthcare companies (52%) already have some sort of IoT solution underway or are in the process of implementing one. 30% admitted to breaking ground with IoT over the next 12 months.
Respondents stated that IoT would create a safer work environment with greater regulatory compliance, improved operations and an enhanced patient experience. The healthcare industry expects IoT to arm enterprises with real-time operational data.
As for the key to IoT, Wi-Fi was said to be crucial for enabling solutions by more than 70% of those surveyed, and Real-time locating systems (RTLS), security sensors and barcodes also ranked high.
Security, cloud services and data analytics were the areas which healthcare decision makers ranked the highest as the most important IoT solutions for their industry.
The results of the survey were announced at the Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) 2015 conference in Chicago. The research was commissioned by Zebra and conducted by Forrester in October last.
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Laurie Eldridge-Shanaman, Director, Global Healthcare Practice at Zebra Technologies, said: "The Internet of Things offers unparalleled opportunities for the industry. From enabling physicians to accurately track a patient’s health over time to better managing patient data across the continuum, IoT can advance the industry by providing visibility and process optimisation to enhance the patient experience.
"At HIMSS 2015, Zebra will demonstrate how IoT solutions, as just one part of enterprise asset intelligence, deliver vital information necessary to make better decisions at the bedside and improve outcomes."
