Home // International Journal On Advances in Life Sciences, volume 6, numbers 3 and 4, 2014 // View article
Authors:
Stephan Hengstler
Keywords: cellular; connectivity; devices; health; wireless
Abstract:
With the technological revolution in digital communications and connectivity over the past two decades, the healthcare sector is at the beginning of a dramatic overhaul. These technologies have already made their way into our everyday lives and thus changing the way we do things. The healthcare industry with its resistance to change has started considering, evaluating, and embracing the way connectivity can change medical treatment and personal health. In this paper, we review the state-of-the-art in medical device connectivity with a focus on wireless solutions. Throughout the paper, the discussion primarily applies to the United States and it separately studies its three major care delivery settings: clinical, office, and home. Based on the challenges and requirements that each of these settings present, we discuss the key aspects needed for medical device connectivity to succeed from both a technological and financial perspective. Cellular connectivity can satisfy many of these key aspects. Therefore, we have proposed and operated a testbed for cellular-enabled upload into Electronic Health Record (EHR) systems, which we present here and outline its implementation in detail. The paper concludes with a longer term outlook on the adoption of digital communications and connectivity in the healthcare sector.
Pages: 147 to 156
Copyright: Copyright (c) to authors, 2014. Used with permission.
Publication date: December 30, 2014
Published in: journal
ISSN: 1942-2660