5G network has the potential to completely transform the healthcare sector. It can do so because of the high-speed connectivity that it brings to the job. Healthcare is already on the cusp of gigantic changes with technologies such as AI, AR, VR, IoT, Sensor, and others advanced technology ready to disrupt the sector. All it needs is high bandwidth that can support the movement of the immense amount of data generated by all the devices and processes that are ready to be deployed. However, with the deployment of 5G, the concerns of network security and data protection have also grown.
Here is how 5G is ready to change the healthcare system around the world:
1. It’s Going to Create a New Healthcare Ecosystem
5G is going to make many virtual technologies deliver real-time experiences and outcomes. It’s going to create a parallel ecosystem of technological solutions that would make much of the traditional healthcare infrastructure redundant. For example, remote monitoring of patients through video calls can cause a turnaround in the way healthcare is provided to rural areas. With all the connectivity and synergies created, it’s going to create a new ecosystem where connected digital devices exchange data as smoothly as water flows in a stream. The new healthcare ecosystem will be driven by predictive, personalized, and participatory solutions.
2. Brings Immense Opportunities to Healthcare
The 5G-driven healthcare infrastructure would be all about online consultations, remote procedures, resource efficiency, and wearable devices. A robotic surgery guided by a surgeon thousands of miles away is no longer an exotic idea. It’s now and here. All this means greater freedom of choices and conveniences to the patient. But the industry as a whole is also going to benefit a great deal. For example, the telecom operators who will provide high-speed wireless connectivity are likely to penetrate deeper into the new healthcare value chain. The telecom operators are expected to earn $76 billion in 2026 from the new transformations in the healthcare industry due to 5G. Telecom operators, app developers, and pharma companies would be among the top beneficiaries.
3. Decentralization of Healthcare
The deployment of 5G high-speed connectivity will prompt the healthcare sector to decentralize. This would be enabled by the deployment of appropriate technologies that are already available but are not able to work to their full potential due to the limited capacity of the networks right now. Healthcare is likely to become more of homecare where the doctor would check the patient through video calls and prescribe medicine as well. The patient may not be required to visit the hospital in-person. The telecom operators may offer many of the value-added healthcare services such as medical training, online booking, telemetry, and data management.
4. Hospitals Likely to Become Data Centers
With so many digital applications working to offer preventive, routine, operative, and post-operative care to the patients, the hospitals will need a much larger infrastructure to store all the data that gets generated in the process. The data may be a valuable resource for everyone in the healthcare system including the patients who could check the effectiveness of the treatment given to them. The doctors are more likely to become data scientists. This change is a big breakthrough in providing universal access to healthcare. However, providing secure access to the data can turn out to be a key challenge.
5. Remote Monitoring to Become More Effective
5G is going to make remote monitoring reliable and real-time. The Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) is already at work and connected devices and healthcare professionals are able to offer preventive as well as personalized healthcare solutions to patients. The use of wearables is a common and efficient remote monitoring technology that’s making patients engage with their health on a proactive note. It is going to reduce the cost of hospitals by up to 16% in the next 5 years. A slower network at the moment comes in the way of a fuller realization of the benefits of the remote monitoring technology available at the moment. However, this is going to drastically change for the better once the 5G connectivity is available. The latency would be eradicated and video conference calls can connect the doctors and patients on a more reliable note.
6. Remote Procedures to Become a Reality
Robotic surgery is not quite new to the modern healthcare industry. However, at the moment it is used with the doctors standing next to it. Can this be used remotely as well? The only weak link in this potentially revolutionary development is the slower internet. With the present level of internet speed, you can’t rely on that a robotic surgery would go off well especially in remote locations where sometimes the internet connectivity may not be available at all. A remote robotic surgery would involve haptic feedback and image streaming on a real-time basis. This is not possible when the systems suffer from lag and latency. When the 5G is available, this is possible because the internet speed can be at least 100 times more than the current speed.
7. Telehealth to Grow More Rapidly
As per available market research, the telehealth market is expected to benefit immensely from 5G and grow at a CAGR of 16.5% from 2017 to 2023. As the Covid-19 pandemic lingers on, the growth of the telehealth market is expected to be more robust. The pandemic has already made telehealth a big winner where doctors are engaging with patients remotely. The trend is going to get only stronger as the 5G bandwidth deployment becomes more widespread. After the pandemic is over, the trend of patients avoiding exposure to contagion will continue. This will discourage in-person visits to healthcare centers or doctors. But the ultra-high-speed 5G connectivity will make technologies like telepresence systems more widespread, reducing the need for the doctor to see the patient in person. Quarantined or critically ill people will get healthcare services over wireless networks.
8. Transfer of Large Files Will Be Possible
The healthcare sector produces huge amounts of data. The MRI, CAT, and PET scans which are routinely done for almost every patient can generate massive amounts of data running into hundreds of gigabytes each day. Right now under 4G, transferring such large files is not easy. There is a high degree of latency. In an article on its site, AT&T Business says, “Adding a high-speed 5G network to existing architectures can help quickly and reliably transport huge data files of medical imagery, which can improve both access to care and the quality of care. At the Austin Cancer Center, the PET scanner generates extremely large files — up to 1 gigabyte of information per patient per study.”
Jason Lindgren, CIO of Austin Cancer Center, says, “To get that much data from one side of the town to another, you’ve got to have the network performance to handle it. We used to have to send the files after hours. Now as soon as the patient leaves the scanner, the study is already on its way. It’s beneficial to doctors because they can get the results that they need quicker.”
9. Sensor Innovation to Drive Medical Device Markets
The introduction of 5G is going to provide an impetus to the medical gadgets industry. More innovative devices are likely to come into the market and make the measurement and monitoring of health status at home easier. Most of these devices will be in the DIY format and sensors will play an important role in calibrating, gathering, and validating data. The high-speed internet will make the transfer of data to healthcare professionals and doctors easy. According to market surveys, the market for medical sensors is expected to grow at a steady pace.
10. Wider Applications of Artificial Intelligence (AI)
After the introduction of 5G wireless connectivity, the use of AI in healthcare is expected to grow phenomenally. AI uses a range of advanced digital technologies and deep learning methods to mimic the human mind. In some cases, the results are unbelievable. The use of connected devices including wearables, sensors, and GPS systems is very common these days. But when you use these technologies in healthcare, they can measure and monitor body movements such as sleeping, breathing, heart functions. These developments have the revolutionary potential for the healthcare sector.
The role that deep learning can play is also significant. The healthcare sector generates a huge amount of data and they are the most invaluable resource for research and adoption of new solutions. With 5G coming on the scene, the use of AI is likely to grow and become mainstream in the healthcare sector.
Final Thoughts
The 4G bandwidth that’s available right now does not offer enough internet speed to deploy advanced technologies in the healthcare sector. Once 5G becomes a reality worldwide, it can transform communications and some of the industries where such communications are critical. Healthcare is one of those sectors that are eagerly and desperately waiting for high internet speed to deploy some of the advanced technologies. The current level of internet speed is a major bottleneck at a time when technologies like AI, Sensors, MRI, CAT, etc are commonplace. They generate a huge amount of data that need high bandwidth to travel from one end to another in the healthcare delivery chain.
Once the 5G bandwidth is available, the healthcare sector may start deploying remote monitoring, remote procedure, telehealth, and tele-medicines facilities on a more pro-active basis. This scenario holds unbelievable potential. In this article, we have discussed some of the improvements that it might trigger in the healthcare sector. One of the key changes that 5G may lead to is the transformation of the hospitals. It is hard to say what fate it will have, but it is sure that people might not need to visit a hospital for a majority of the problems. That we are talking about when 5G is fully deployed and the changes in the healthcare sector are fully settled.