Internet of Things (IoT) Applications in hospitals: A Systematic Review

The Internet of Things (IoT) is a system of wireless, interconnected and digital devices that can collect and store data in a network without the need for human-to-human or human-to-computer interactions. Due to the important technology in hospitals and health centers, this systematic review was conducted with the objective of applying the IoT in hospitals.

The present study is a systematic review according to Prisma guidelines, which was conducted in 2021. The searches were done in three scientific databases of PubMed, Scopus, and ISI Web of Science, using a combination of keywords, such as the IoT and hospital. The review of the titles, abstracts, and full texts of the articles was performed independently by two researchers. Finally, data were collected from original research articles that used the IoT in hospitals.

A total of 20 articles were included in the study. In 13 articles, the use of IoT was mentioned to reduce and control dust levels and improve the quality of health of wards. Moreover, the capability to use and install IoT systems on mobile phones and their use to monitor health improvement were addressed in two articles. In addition, the benefits of using the IoT to save time and keep users' information confidential were discussed in some other reviewed articles.

The results of this investigation indicated that the IoT system in hospitals increased the quality of healthcare and increased patient satisfaction. In addition, IoT technology can be significantly accurate in controlling various hospital infections. This technology can also improve the security of devices and databases in the hospital. In general, the use of IoT increases the efficiency of hospitals and health centers.