Accenture: Internet of Health Things Could Lead To Big Cost Savings for Orgs

If healthcare organization leaders don’t take full advantage of the Internet of Health Things (IoHT), they could risk missing out on substantial cost savings, according to findings from a new Accenture report.

For the report, Accenture commissioned an online survey of 77 healthcare payers and 77 healthcare providers in the U.S. The survey aimed to understand the current position of respondents with respect to the use of IoHT technologies and tools, and find out what investments they were making and where. Organizations included in the survey had annual revenues of more than $50 million and sample job titles were C-suite, mainly CEO and CIO. Accenture defines IoHT as “the integration of physical and digital worlds through objects with network connectivity in healthcare.”

Accenture officials further noted that connected devices using the Internet of Health Things “are beginning to transform healthcare delivery. By introducing more connectivity, remote monitoring and information gathering, IoHT can encourage better use of healthcare resources, more informed decisions, a reduction in inefficiencies or waste and the empowerment of health consumers.”

What’s more, according to estimates, the value of IoHT will top $163 billion by 2020, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 38.1 percent between 2015 and 2020.1 Within the next five years, the healthcare sector is projected to be first in the top 10 industries for Internet of Things app development.

Key research findings included:

--The majority (73 percent) of healthcare executives agree that IoHT is poised to create disruptive change within three years, however, less than half (49 percent) think their organization’s leadership understands what IoHT could mean to their organization.

--By not realizing the potential, healthcare leaders are risking loss of benefits other organizations have realized through use of IoHT, for example, driving improved customer attraction/retention, and medical and administrative cost savings through:

• Remote patient monitoring: The vast majority of providers (88 percent) and payers (81 percent) who have applied IoHT services reported at least moderate improvement in consumer attraction/retention.
• Wellness and prevention programs: Nearly half of providers (42 percent) and payers (45 percent) who have applied IoHT services reported achieving extensive medical cost savings from their wellness and prevention IoHT programs.
• Operations: Approximately one third of payers (33 percent) and providers (31 percent) who have applied IoHT services reported realizing extensive administrative cost savings from their operations IoHT programs.

The report noted, “Providers and payers have already demonstrated value through IoHT—but they need to continue investments to better understand where programs are successful to prepare for future scaling. They need to measure effectiveness beyond the technology and then build on those areas of effectiveness quickly to offer value across the business. By demonstrating the benefits and best practices, providers and payers can strengthen business cases, encourage adoption and drive interoperability.”