Essay Sample on Investment in the Internet of Things

Introduction

Human beings continue to live longer thanks to better access to medical services, clean drinking water, advances in medical technologies and the eradication of previously killer diseases such as small Pox and plague. Moreover, with continued research in incurable diseases such as cancer and HIV/AIDs, it has become easy to manage them. Nonetheless, the healthcare industry continues to grow, and healthcare allocations in many governments are a significant percentage of the national budget. Moreover, need to do so arise as higher life expectancies increase susceptibility to diseases and a larger older population means more pressure on health resources. As a result healthcare costs are ever-rising and governments continue to minimize the costs of healthcare to increase ease in access. Programs such as comprehensive national insurance cover have allowed better access to health services at affordable prices, and governments continue to find ways to finance and reimburse healthcare.

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However, while comprehensive national health insurance caters for different purchasing powers of healthcare consumers, such an approach is reactive, and this has led to more preventive measures to healthcare. Consequently, the use of technology has come in handy in as the applications of computers in storage, retrieval, and transmission of data continues to grow to allow for efficiency and increases in productivity. The Department of Health has since not been left behind as it uses technology in data storage through Electronic Health Records and this has improved safety of documents and the ease of access and retrieval of data. Nonetheless, while the use of technology has been satisfactory, the organization has failed to keep up with the ever-changing technological sector. Advancement in healthcare technology has led to the use of the Internet of Things, robots and Artificial intelligence which the organization is yet to adopt. Besides the use of technology for data storage and retrieval, the organization has free-milk programs, and this is in alignment with the continued focus on healthy living.

Analysis of Current Programs

The initiative by the government to provide free milk for school children is a step towards healthy living as the program continues to encourage young children to consume healthy foods that contribute to mental health. Milk has several health outcomes both preventive and curative. Milk contains potassium which enhances vasodilatation which lowers blood pressure, in fact, according to Beltran-Barriento et al., (2016) higher consumption of milk reduces the probability of Ischaemic cardiovascular disease. In so doing, the lower blood pressure contributes to reduce risks of future deaths from cardiovascular diseases which are prevalent in many parts of the world.

Milk also contains Choline, an essential nutrient that maintains the structure of cellular membranes assists in fat absorption and enhances the transmission of nerve impulses (Weiland et al., 2016). Furthermore, it is rich in calcium which is necessary for having strong bones, muscles, and teeth; the effect of this is that the consumption of milk helps prevent bone fractures that are as a result of weak bones. Fourthly, the use of milk helps in controlling cancer because milk contains vitamin D and calcium which regulate cell growth. Eventually, the consumption of milk contributes to a significant reduction in the deaths from cancer which has continued to be a killer disease. Besides the milk program, the Department of Health has in place a technology-based program whose focus is on patient and population data allowing for better quality of care as data from patients is used in care management programs

Resource Allocation and Stakeholder Reflections

The government is the primary stakeholder in the program, and any changes which seek to improve the health of its citizen are likely to receive funds. Need to do so arise as a healthy nation is equally productive. Increasing investment especially in technology will improve healthcare and expand the scope of technological applications in the organization to include Artificial Intelligence (AI), Internet of Things applications and robotics. Funding research in AI and robotics will further knowledge in locomotion; crawling robots that use artificial intelligence are used in neurosciences where neural circuits that when activated produce motor patterns such as crawling and walking in the absence of sensory feedback are used to control different robots and enhance the understanding psychomotor activities. Also, while spending on technology might be expensive the control of lifestyle-related cardiovascular diseases will be easy resulting to millions of dollars in savings due to innovative medical innovations can be used to enhance medical service provision further. Artificially intelligent robots have onboard electromagnetic tracking sensors which show their location in the heart, therefore, facilitating intrapericardial therapy.

Investment in the Internet of Things would facilitate better healthcare facilities as the interconnection of devices is crucial for remote health monitoring through Radio Frequency Identification technology, and emergency notification systems (Dimitrov, 2016). Moreover, IoT has facilitated the development of advanced prosthetics whose functions are controlled by Smartphone applications. Consequently, prosthetic limb users, typically war veterans and accident survivors can perform normal body functions.

References

Beltran-Barrientos, L. M., Hernandez-Mendoza, A., Torres-Llanez, M. J., Gonzalez-Cordova, A. F., & Vallejo-Cordoba, B. (2016). Invited review: Fermented milk as antihypertensive functional food. Journal of dairy science, 99(6), 4099-4110

Dimitrov, D. V. (2016). Medical internet of things and big data in healthcare. Healthcare informatics research, 22(3), 156-163.

Weiland, A., Bub, A., Barth, S. W., Schrezenmeir, J., & Pfeuffer, M. (2016). Effects of dietary milk-and soya-phospholipids on lipid-parameters and other risk indicators for cardiovascular diseases in overweight or obese men-two double-blind, randomised, controlled, clinical trials. Journal of nutritional science, 5.