“5G and IoT can certainly bring healthcare much closer to home and make the transition between traditional facilities and the home environment much more seamless,” said Mark McDiarmid, Senior Vice President for Radio Network Engineering and Development at T-Mobile.

T-Mobile has worked closely with the U. S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), which has medical centers in cities nationwide, to improve telehealth experiences and implement IoT solutions to help make care more efficient. “The COVID-19 pandemic has increased interest in both areas,” McDiarmid said.

Dr. Leonie Heyworth, VA Telehealth Deputy Director for Clinical Services shared, “Telehealth has continued delivery of high-quality outpatient VA services in the context of pandemic-related social distancing guidelines.  In FY 2021, telehealth continued to expand to over 1.9 million Veterans who received more than 9.5 million video visits to their homes, an increase of more than 146% when compared to FY 2020. Since FY 2019, VA video visits to Veterans in their homes or on mobile devices have increased by more than 3100%”.

Next-gen healthcare with 5G

“The potential to build on the success of such programs has sparked collaborative research and new projects,” added Pat Watkins, Vice President of Partner Solutions and IoT at T-Mobile.

This collaboration might involve providing equipment to patients for use in their homes with sensors that relay data back to clinicians. Additionally, through the use of sensors and fast networks, healthcare providers can potentially reduce many of the manual and repetitive tasks that take place at medical facilities.

IoT can help make sure that the facility is ready for both patients and providers – bed and equipment status can be tracked through information shared via sensors. That information no longer needs to be tracked down by someone and then provided to someone else. “With 5G, the ability to add more sensors and transmit more information in real time will expand the potential to provide more efficient healthcare services,” Watkins said.

With the right network and IoT technology, both government organizations and medical facilities can be more proactive. By using sensor data to precisely identify when equipment might be ready for maintenance or replacement, predictive analytics can reduce unplanned equipment downtime. Proactive use of data can extend directly to patient care, too. For example, a patient’s health stats can be shared from equipment in an ambulance directly with the receiving care team in the emergency room, providing vital information when every second counts.

IoT and 5G beyond healthcare

While leveraging sensors for fleet management was one of the earliest IoT focus areas for agencies across all levels of government, there are even more spaces where IoT and 5G innovation can have a big impact, such as agriculture, sustainability, and city management.

T-Mobile is partnering closely with agencies and state and local governments as they unlock new ways to innovate through the power of an advanced 5G network paired with IoT solutions.

For example, Snohomish County, the 5G Open Innovation Lab and T-Mobile partners have come together to create a state-of-the-art agriculture technology field lab on two farms in rural Washington. The Food Resiliency Project brings farmers, distributors, and technology companies together to transform the agriculture industry.

Using similar innovation, dairy manufacturers have the ability to track progress throughout the entire supply chain. Starting with cows directly on the farm, sensors can help track individual batches of milk at factories and distribution to wholesalers. Beyond healthcare and agriculture, local governments can also use IoT solutions to better manage waste, monitor traffic, and communicate more effectively with their communities.

“Making the most of evolving IoT and 5G capabilities will hinge on government and industry working closely together,” Watkins says. “It’s going to take a lot of collaboration between all of us.”

 How can 5G networks help agencies respond when disaster strikes? Read more now.

Copyright © 2024 Federal News Network. All rights reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.