In an IoT Age, Hospitals Make House Calls

An IoT-driven future where hospitals make house calls. Futuristic SciFi? How about this: it will actually come sooner than you think.

Before you scoff, here’s some corroborating evidence.

Consider the fact that the world’s biggest hospitality company owns no hotels.  In the same vein, the world’s biggest retailer owns no stores.

As you ponder these seemingly contradictory facts, consider these additional digital apples:

• The world’s biggest distributor of content owns no content
• The world’s biggest broadcaster owns no stations or towers
• The world’s biggest car company owns no cars

Okay, enough. These are real companies. You’ve probably done business with them: Airbnb.  Alibaba.com.  Facebook.  Netflix.  Uber.  And here’s the common denominator among these companies:  they are the world’s biggest AND they do not own the thing they are providing.  That surely fits into the category of truly Remarkable!

The Driver of the Future

On April 2, John McDonald, CEO of ClearObject and a chief IoT tech visionary, gracefully and adeptly navigated between the not-too-distant-future (hospitals that make house calls) and current reality (the world’s biggest companies who do not own what they provide). The engaging talk on the Impact of the Internet of Things (IoT) took place at the WestGate@Crane Technology Park, next to the $2 billion NSWC Crane military technology facility, two state-of-the-art facilities MEK has had a long engagement with.  His listeners had questions. Make that lots of questions. And John had answers, particularly tangible action-based answers.

The Internet of Things (IoT) clearly drives the thinking of many industry heavyweights. Here’s a sampling of what John covered:

He challenged his audience’s perceptions of security.  What feels more secure?  Handing over your credit card to pay for a delicious meal at a fine dining establishment.  Or, typing your credit card numbers into the required fields for a must-have Amazon purchase.

How about education?  With your child’s access to and ease of use with technology and his or her ability to create value with data, which scenario contains the least risk?  Spending thousands of dollars at a reputable institution where he or she may not be able to land a job after earning a degree.  Or, tapping into that value creation with a needs-based start-up while still in high school.  Networking with venture capitalists to turn dreams into lucrative realities.  Following the call of the entrepreneurial spirit to form an enterprise before even entering high school.

Coming to Your Neighborhood – The Fourth Industrial Revolution

The Internet of Things is driving the Fourth Industrial Revolution. McDonald aims to be a player, and he tirelessly also aims to bring the state of Indiana along with him.

And about that hospital making a house call. When advanced sensors and secure telemedicine come into play in an IoT environment, so do diagnostic capacity that is portable, as in so portable it can be used in your home. Coupled with advances in Artificial Intelligence (AI), much of what you presently go to a hospital for will soon be available in your home.

How about you? What’s your IoT play?