Today’s healthcare is complex and patient-focused. There has never been more innovation in healthcare than today, all with the goal of delivering better patient care and outcomes. Wearable technology plays a major role in these innovations. While wearable technology is not new, it is experiencing explosive growth. As wearable technology becomes more prevalent, it is important to understand how it can and will impact both healthcare delivery and the patient experience.

Wearable technology can be divided into two categories:

• Consumer wearables such as watches, rings and clothing and
• Portable medical devices (such as blood pressure, glucose and heart monitors) that can be used in the hospital and after discharge.

Consumer wearable technologies enable patients to take an active role in their health. Healthcare professionals often face challenges managing their patients’ lifestyles, including their activity levels, fitness, diet, sleep patterns, and mental health. Wearable technologies help in these areas by allowing patients to track and monitor themselves. This potential for self-management can reduce the burden on the healthcare system, resulting in fewer doctor visits, lower risks of hospitalization, and fewer diagnostic tests because patients can take corrective action sooner or identify problems sooner.

Many patients appreciate the innovation and utility of consumer wearable devices in managing and monitoring health conditions and promoting wellness. One patient noted on social media, “Wearable technology is going to explode, and I think especially in the healthcare space. I see more and more people wearing this thing implanted in their arm and just holding their phone to it to check their blood sugar. I’m sure there will be many more uses for this soon.”

For consumer wearable technologies to be effective and seen as a valuable option, accuracy is critical. Healthcare professionals are becoming more and more comfortable with patients wearing these types of technologies as long as the data they generate is accurate. The last thing healthcare professionals want is a flood of calls, inquiries, and concerns from patients saying what they see on their wearable devices turns out to be wrong; they have enough on their plate as it is. If consumer wearable technologies can be proven to generate accurate data, healthcare professionals may recommend these technologies to their patients. These devices provide tracking data that, because the data is timely and long-term, is better than addressing problems only at an annual checkup or short, regular office visits.

Patients also express a desire for accuracy. They understand that while wearable technology provides valuable insights, it should not be relied upon exclusively. Another patient mentioned on social media that when used for health monitoring, a device “is a good tool that can help people with risk factors for atrial fibrillation track their heart rhythm throughout the day. It’s not 100% accurate and should not be relied upon exclusively, but it is still useful. And in conjunction with scheduled visits to the primary care physician and cardiologist, not instead of them.”

Ultimately, while these easy-to-use devices can empower patients, they are no substitute for healthcare professionals who know how to properly interpret the data and know how and what actions to take. In this sense, human expertise will still be required. Given the amount of data these devices produce and the need to integrate this information with other medical data to provide a more holistic picture of the patient’s health, data management will also be required.

Medical wearables are becoming more widely used as healthcare providers work to offer more noninvasive options and enable remote monitoring of patients in the hospital and after discharge to ensure they are recovering properly. Medical wearables must meet more stringent standards, so they may not be as user-friendly as consumer wearable devices like watches or rings, but their value in improving patient care is accelerating their adoption. They give patients peace of mind that their providers have up-to-date information about them and provide doctors with more timely data for intervention.

Looking ahead, integrating wearable technology into broader healthcare systems and ensuring data accuracy will be critical. With the increasing volume of data from wearable devices, effective management and analysis are essential. While wearable technology offers transformative potential for both patient care and personal health management, balancing technological innovation with human expertise will be key to maximizing its benefits and improving overall health outcomes.

Photo: exdez, Getty Images

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