Healthcare is on the cusp of big changes and growth propelled by the adoption of the Internet of Things (IoT). According to a recent report from MarketResearch.com, the IoT for healthcare is poised to hit $117 billions by 2020. Leveraging high-speed connectivity, wireless IoT devices (sensors, wearables and health apps) are contributing to the changing healthcare landscape. Healthcare providers who are under increasing pressure to maximise patient outreach and minimise costs look to IoT for solutions to optimise efficiencies. These solutions serve to enhance access to healthcare information, improve distribution of routine and emergency health services and provide well-informed diagnostic services. Health providers are adjusting to the future of an IoT, data-driven healthcare in which many stakeholders and new players look set to contribute.
New diagnostic procedures are made possible by wireless sensors and wearable technologies recording fitness, vital signs, blood constituent, and ambient inputs. A patient’s condition can be more thoroughly assessed when usual diagnostic tools are supplemented with information on the patient’s own health and lifestyle choices and referenced to big data analytics for patient care. Factors such as physical activity, caloric burn and intake, blood pressure, blood glucose, BMI, and sleep pattern can be compared with health and recovery patterns of the population to help medical staff administer timely preventative or prescriptive medical assistance.
Wireless IoT in healthcare enables many patients to live more independently without the need for in-hospital care or constant medical appointments and also better serves the underserviced and remote populations. Further supporting people living in remote areas, widely available LTE will facilitate services that require high-speeds such as remote video consultation and specific diagnostic procedures.
Scientists can benefit from the mining of big data relating to the health and lifestyles of many, collected from millions of connected wireless devices. Wearable technologies and health apps create opportunities for big data analytics that can be used in medical research to better understand and treat disease and in the identification of health patterns in populations. For example, Apple’s HealthKit is a tool enabling development of health and fitness apps that can potentially gather data from the 700+ million iPhones in use. Launched earlier this year, Apple’s ResearchKit, an open source software framework, works with HealthKit by enabling medical researchers to tap into this pool of health and fitness information.
Other uses for wireless sensors in non-clinical applications are being conceived. Sensor devices can be deployed in consignments to monitor in-transit conditions of vaccines or pathology samples to ensure these fragile contents are not in any way compromised. As an example, Sendum’s package tracker can be used to track and monitor in real time packages/deliveries with contents requiring strict storage and handling guidelines. With integrated sensors for a range of environmental inputs, the tracker sends alerts of the changed conditions of a package in transit. Other applications for wireless sensors in healthcare include the tracking and monitoring of trolleys and equipment in hospitals and out on patient loan, through to the location of medical staff and patients.
Expect more types of services tracking and payment applications to become available to effectively deal with healthcare reimbursement. Medicare and insurance companies want to ensure services are performed before they are paid out. Tracking solutions for the scheduling and communication of services rendered can provide connectivity platforms that bring together various sources of data about patients and ensure that the care to be delivered was in fact delivered.
Telcos. acting as facilitators, integrators, and hosts for solutions, are developing IoT enabled healthcare solutions to deliver value added services alongside connectivity. Telstra recently acquired Anywhere Healthcare, a provider of healthcare over video conferencing and Dr Foster, a health analytics firm. These acquisitions form part of the telco’s ambition to build a significant health business in Australia. TELUS, a major Canadian mobile operator, offers information solutions to health providers that include electronic medical records EMR and electronic health records (EHR), health analytics, claims/benefits and pharmacy management through its TELUS Health arm.
IoT in healthcare is an evolving concept and one that is complex to uptake for most health providers. Dealing with optimising current EHR systems, health care providers understandably baulk at the changes required for data-driven healthcare. Questions raised range from data quality and relevance, data use and security to the implementation of IoT systems – whether their current EHR systems can be enhanced with IoT add-ons or whether entire systems need overhauling with a firm eye on the future.
Planning for the connected, data-focussed future of healthcare takes vision requiring an open mind and calculated approach. Successful healthcare integration of IoT is dependent on defining and achieving objectives through a combination of new technologies and traditional knowledge. It depends on the whole organisation embracing the IoT, understanding that improved quality to patient care, meeting of clinical benchmarks, and operational efficiencies are the result. Healthcare providers need to keep in mind that prospective IT purchases should address the key elements of data standards, interoperability, and analytics to be open to future IoT development
The potential of IoT in healthcare will bring in new players with connectivity suppliers, device and health gateway vendors, online applications, and existing vertically integrated players all increasing their offerings to meet the demands of this growing market. IoT in healthcare involves the creation of a sustainable ecosystem of stakeholders and collaboration partners from both healthcare and technology industries.
Privacy Overview
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1. Privacy Policy Statement
M2M Connectivity is committed to protecting your privacy, keeping your information safe and ensuring the security of your data. This policy outlines our ongoing obligations to you in respect of how we manage your Personal Information. This extends to both our control and processing of personal information.
We have adopted the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) contained in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (the Privacy Act). The National Privacy Principles (NPPs) govern the way in which we collect, use, disclose, store, secure and dispose your Personal Information.
The current policy will be in effect from 1 July 2020. We may need to update it over time but if we do, the updated version will be published.
2. What information we collect and control
The types of information we collect depends on how you use our products and services as well as the relationship we have with you as a customer. It may include information like your name, date of birth, contact details (including address, email address, phone number or mobile telephone number), bank account and credit card details, information to prove your identity (driver’s license or another approved ID), account username or password and your use of our products and services.
We may also collect more in-depth information including:
- Financial and Credit information related to your financial relationship with us, such as your financial details, payment history, credit history, and your service history.
- Information about your products and services including device-specific information such as your hardware model, operating system version, unique device and service identifiers, device status, serial numbers, settings, configuration and software and mobile network information.
- Information about how you use your products and services such as:
- Your network usage including time and duration of your communications as well as information about the operation of the equipment, services and applications you use on our networks .
- How you use our services to access the internet, such as the location of your devices when you are using our products and services.
- Information that allows us to identify you for verification purposes.
- Technical Information about your products and services including details about our network performance including information about how you use our networks.
Some of the information collected may be sensitive information. If we need this type of information, we’ll ask you for information in accordance with applicable law.
You might also need to provide personal information about other individuals to us (e.g. about your authorised representative). If so, we rely on you to have informed those individuals that you are giving their personal information to us and to have advised them about this statement. It is important to be aware that if you access another party’s website or application using one of our products, that other party will deal with your personal information in accordance with its own privacy policy.
3. How do we collect your information
We collect personal information in the following ways:
We collect information directly from you when you:
- Or your representative interacts with either us or one of our trusted partners. This might happen when you are setting up an account with us or using one of our products or services;
- Order and/or register for a product or a service;
- Interact with technical support and sales teams;
- Use our website or social media sites;
- Share information with us via forms, for example when you register for our trainings, events and newsletters.
- Apply for a job with us.
We may also collect information about you:
- From external sources like credit reports and marketing mailing lists;
- Commercially available information. This can also include information gained from our partners, these partners include our business and commercial partners, and other affiliates;
4. How do we store your information
We take all reasonable steps to securely store your information using a combination of technical solutions, security controls and internal processes to protect information and our network from unauthorised use, modification, access and disclosure.
We may store your information in hard copy or electronic format and keep it in storage facilities that we own and operate ourselves.
We endeavour to ensure that information is kept as current as possible and that irrelevant data is deleted or made anonymous as soon as reasonably practicable. However, some information may be retained for varying time periods in order to comply with legal and regulatory obligations and for other legitimate business reasons.
5. How do we use your information
We may use your personal information in the ways as outlined below:
- To help us properly manage the products and services we provide to you. We also use your information for charging and billing and to identify potential breaches of our terms and conditions of service.
- Communicate with you in order to provide you with our products, upgrades and services via email, SMS and social media.
- Processing orders and applications and to enroll you as our customer.
- Verifying identity, carrying out credit checks and reporting.
- Generating bills, managing account, and carrying out debt-recovery.
- Development of our products and services.
- Communicate to you about all our products, services and offers that are relevant and are of interest to you. We may use the information we hold to market and promote them directly to you.
- Identifying your location so we can send you emergency alerts.
- Protecting our network and managing the data use and other uses of our network.
- Training our staff.
6. When do we share your information
We do not sell any information. We may share your information with other parties who provide services to us, including partners and contractors that assist us with providing our business processes and products and services. These services include:
- Providing, managing or administering your product or service including customer enquiries and support services.
- Installation, maintenance and repair services.
- Mailing operations, billing and debt-recovery functions.
- Information technology and network services.
- Development, analysis and business intelligence functions.
- Your authorised representatives or legal advisers
- Third parties when you ask us to do so or when you consent to that disclosure for the purposes of preventing or investigation fraud, crime or misconduct relating to your account or services.
- Credit providers or credit-reporting agencies for identity checking and credit related purposes such as credit-worthiness, credit rating, default listing, credit provision and financing under privacy act and credit reporting legislation.
- Our dealers, business or commercial partners, legal advisers and other businesses we work with
- The manager of the Integrated Public Number Database (IPND), and other organisations as required or authorised by law (please see www.acma.gov.au for more information)
- Law enforcement and national security agencies, and other government and regulatory authorities as required or authorised by law
- For the purposes of facilitating or implementing a transfer/ sale of all or part of our assets or business.
7. How can you access or correct your information
To ensure that we are able to provide you with the best products and services possible, it’s important that you make sure the information we hold about you is accurate, up-to-date and complete. If any of your details change you may contact us using the contact details below. You also have the right to request a copy of your information that we hold about you. There is no charge to submit a request or to correct information, however we may apply an administrative charge for providing access to your information on request. To make this request email us at privacy@m2mconnectivity.com.au
8. How can you make a privacy complaint
You can also use our contact details to notify us of any privacy complaint you have against us. If you believe your privacy has been compromised, please contact us. We are committed to acknowledging your complaint in a prompt manner and will give you an estimated timeframe on the response to the complaint.
While we hope that we will be able to resolve any complaints you may have without needing to involve third parties, you may also be able to lodge a complaint with a relevant regulator such as the Australian Information Commissioner or the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman.
9. How can you contact us
If you have any questions in relation to this Privacy Statement, our management of your information or you would like a copy of this statement sent to you, please call us on (03) 9696 3011 or email us at privacy@m2mconnectivity.com.au. The office hours are Monday-Friday 8 am-5 pm EST. You can also download a pdf copy of this statement on our website, at www.m2mconnectivity.com.au/privacy-statement
Contact Details:
EMAIL: privacy@m2mconnectivity.com.au
PHONE: +61 3 8378 2650