What Impact Are Wearables Having in Healthcare?

Everywhere you go today you are bound to see someone wearing a Fitbit or Apple Watch. These gadgets have become a trend that seems to be growing stronger every year. An International Data Corporation (IDC) report finds that the global wearables market increased 7.7 percent in the fourth quarter of 2017, while the overall growth of the market was 10.3 percent in 2017.

While these wearables are widely popular for many reasons, one of their primary attributes is the ability to record and track health information. So, how do these devices change the way we view personal healthcare and the use of health data captured outside the walls of a doctor’s office?

How Wearables Are Bridging the Gap Between Home and the Doctor’s Office

While many wearables users are healthy, there is a segment of users who do suffer from an on-going medical issue, and in some cases, have comorbidities. For these users, wearables could aid in managing their health conditions by changing personal habits and serving as telemonitoring devices.

Wearables can serve as motivation and fitness tracking for patients who suffer from chronic conditions like diabetes and obesity in an attempt to change personal habits. This monitoring allows the patient the ability to see in a data-centric way if they are meeting their fitness goals. If a patient starts to lose weight, they have data that shows them the amount of physical activity required to lose a specific amount of weight.

When looking at the research regarding wearables and the health benefits for physical activity, studies show the use of pedometers (which are part of many fitness trackers) is associated with “significant increases in physical activity and significant decreases in body mass index and blood pressure. Moreover, “smartphone apps have been shown to complement interventions supporting weight loss.” However, long-term benefits of wearables are less impressive as studies show that “interventions involving pedometers and smartphone apps across clinical populations show no evidence of continued behavior change beyond the duration of the original intervention.”

Wearables can also provide physicians a bridge to a patient’s everyday life by serving as a telemonitoring device. Many of these devices allow patients to send reports to their healthcare providers. For example, some of these devices can provide monitoring for cardiac patients. Many of these wearables now incorporate sophisticated heart rate tracking technology, though most still lack the ability to do an ECG. However, even with their limitations, wearables could be a useful tool for everyday telemonitoring at a much-reduced cost.

Where is the Tech Heading? Smartwatches May Be the Future of Wearables

While the use of these devices in healthcare settings is still uncertain, the technology will continue to evolve. Indeed, when looking at current industry statistics, it appears there is a shift occurring toward smartwatches over traditional fitness trackers. Ramon T. Liamas, research director of IDC’s wearables team, states that “remaining vendors – including multiple startups – have not only replaced them [older models], but [added] new device features and services [helping] make wearables more integral in people’s lives. Going forward, the next generation of wearables will make the ones we saw as recently as 2016 look quaint.”

How Does This Shift in Wearables Affect Healthcare? The Debate Continues

This shift toward smartwatches with more enhancements and features will undoubtedly drive the use of these wearables in healthcare. At the heart of the matter, however, is finding devices that demonstrate real gains in patient outcomes and improvements in accuracy. Dr. Joseph Kvedar, the vice president for connected health at Partners Healthcare in Boston, believes that “some of these devices will lead to a better healthcare system.” Though, he believes it will take “separating the useful devices from the superfluous ones – no easy task.” He goes on to express concerns about the “clinical accuracy and privacy of many of the devices.”

When looking at advances in improving accuracy, there are some new thoughts in the industry driven by high-tech tools such as machine learning. Lukasz Piwek, a data scientist from the University of Bath in the UK, states that “accuracy is getting better due to machine learning algorithms getting better at picking out complex patterns from the noise.”

The Changes Ahead

While there are endless possibilities regarding wearables, the jury is still out regarding their clinical effectiveness. While there are some examples of benefits of these devices, the long-term effects may be limited. However, as technology evolves and manufacturers try to implement new features and services, the future of wearables in healthcare may become more known.

Does the intersection of healthcare and technology interest you? At National Recruiters, we work with medical professionals to help them evolve in the industry and find the right role to help them fulfill their goals. Contact a healthcare recruiter today to get started!

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