A Quick Look at Connected Drug Delivery Devices and Their Peculiar Advantages

Connected drug delivery devices, in the recent years, have seen a huge increase in demand due the several benefits associated with their usage. From cutting down the medical expenses to providing timely reminders about the medication’s prescribed dosage, connected drug delivery devices ensure that the patient gets the perfect medical treatment, he/she has opted for. Moreover, the doctors can remotely monitor the status and progress of the patient with the help of these devices. Thus, these devices create a win-win situation for all the stakeholders.

The symbiotic relationship between the field of science and healthcare sector has resulted in the development of numerous ideas. Take the example of AlphaFold, an AI-based program developed by Google’s DeepMind, which helps in predicting a protein structure. Recently, its open-source software was released along with a searchable database which stores information of more than 200 million proteins. The implications of this development are momentous, to say the least. Developing new vaccines which would normally take several years, due to the inability to identify a protein and predict its mutations, can now be developed in a few weeks. This is just one example of this symbiotic relationship. There are thousand such instances. Connected drug delivery devices is another such important development which has been conceived through this coming together of science and health sector.

What are Connected Drug Delivery Devices and Their Advantages?

Connected drug delivery devices are basically smart electronic health devices that store critical patient’s medication information such as time, dosage, and site of dosage for self-administration by the patient. Thus, these electronic devices perform several functions related to patient-administered therapy and are wirelessly connected so that the patient’s doctors can remotely monitor the status, adherence, and progress of the patient.

In the past few years, the connected drug delivery devices market has witnessed a huge surge in its growth rate due to the various advantages provided by these devices. Some of the key advantages of connected drug delivery devices are mentioned below:

1. One of the biggest benefits of using these devices is that they provide regular reminders regarding the dosage that needs to be taken by the patient. The devices also provide the correct dosage information and the site of dosage, if an invasive technique is involved. Since, regular reminders about the administration timing, frequency, and correct dosage are must for fast recovery of the patient, these devices perform all the functions; which the hospital staff would perform if the patient was admitted in the hospital.
    
2. The Covid-19 pandemic saw a massive burden on the healthcare sector all over the globe as hospitals ran out of beds and there was a shortage of essential medicines. The pandemic underlined the need to reduce the strain on the healthcare system in whichever way possible. Connected drug delivery devices by offering patient self-management helps in freeing time and resources of hospitals and relieves the immense pressure and burden faced by healthcare systems. Thus, with the help of these devices, medical facilities can be provided to the patients who are in its dire need as well as to patients who are at low risk levels.
    
3. Connected drug delivery devices bring down the cost of medical treatment substantially. Since these devices run on the principle of patient self-management and self-administration of medications, costly secondary medical interventions aren’t needed. Also, since these devices can be safely used by patients in their respective homes, costs associated with hospitalizations are also done away with.
    
4. Almost all connected drug delivery devices available today in the market are digital in nature, meaning, they provide accurate details about the timings, frequency, and the dosage of medication. Moreover, these devices can be customized according to the patient’s needs, medical conditions, and the patient’s surroundings, which increases the accuracy even further.

The Bottom Line

With newer technologies such as Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning coming to the fore, there are endless possibilities with respect to making connected drug delivery devices even smarter. However, there are several concerns regarding the privacy and data security, since the information provided to these devices pertain to patient’s confidential medical history. Many experts suggest that the device manufacturing companies should come forward and clarify the doubts so that these apprehensions can be put to rest.