the function of all devices, the role of the patient, and priorities of healthcare providers and specialists in responding to available data. Common communication protocols and standards across manufacturers will help integrate complementary IoT devices and produce meaningful aggregate data that can be interpreted and analysed. Data standards across data sources and devices will also bring a greater level of freedom for consumers, and allow even greater personalisation of their healthcare experience.

Limits/Challenges of IoT in Healthcare
With good reason, security is one of the primary challenges in successfully integrating IoT in healthcare. Each new IoT device introduced represents another point of potential weakness in the security of the healthcare system. Security architecture, including key aspects of encryption and authentication, should cover all points of the communications pathway. End-point consumer devices should have a range of security measures integrated into their function, and be able to be isolated from the wider network in the event of a breach. Security for IoT is often focused on single devices, and integration of multiple devices can lead to mismatched and unwieldy systems.

Determining device security should be based on balancing available processing, interfaces, and threat analysis. Scalability can help integrate security across various kinds of devices. Privacy should go hand-inhand with security, balanced with accessibility and usability for participants. Traditional healthcare has recognised the benefits of IoT, however given the large structures and bureaucracy involved, the pace of change is slow. Steps by large public bodies, including the UK’s NHS, have increased the acceptance of new IoT-enabled patient management models. However, there has been a lack of buy-in from GPs and local health networks, as the investment and training required for IoT stretches resources even further. Demonstrating value and ROI will encourage initial investment from healthcare systems focused on efficiency and minimising cost. Another challenge will be sustaining patient and clinician engagement. The benefits and accessibility of devices should drive behavioural change.

Future of IoT
The pace of change within IoT, and digital technology as a whole, is clearly accelerating day-to-day. Of particular interest within healthcare is the application of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in interpreting huge amounts of data, recognising needs, and recommending actions for patients. Some hospitals have already started implementing Smart Beds that can capture and detect a patient’s movements, automatically adjust the pressure of their bed, and allow for the information to be analysed in real-time. I expect we’ll see large healthcare systems expand the role of ‘autonomous healthcare’ in managing day-to-day patient care, and enable secure communication methods for the information exchanged between these health systems. Ultimately a secure Electronic Health Record (EHR) is created that ensures patients have control over who can see their health information. IoT will be a key component of the growing health ecosystem, and in the rush/drive to collect more data and provide improved healthcare outcomes, we must not ignore the basic requirements of information privacy and security, while ensuring that health data collected is clinically validated. Of course, trained clinicians will still manage decision-making for key healthcare interventions, at least for the foreseeable future, but with IoT and the implementation of secure data analytics clinicians will have more tools at their disposal to ensure effective clinical management for patients and improved health outcomes.