The healthcare industry is perpetually changing based on emerging technologies and services released to the market, but adopting these new services isn’t an easy task for doctors, hospitals, and others involved in medicine.
Enhanced personalization and early diagnosis are two characteristics of medical wearables in which health monitoring is showing enhanced potential. Individualized health care that is more proactive than reactive, while remote monitoring and diagnostics make it easier for healthcare professionals to monitor patients’ progress while more personalized treatment is offered.
The top five reasons US wearable consumers use the device, according to the Rock Health “Beyond Wellness For the Healthy: Digital Health Consumer Adoption 2018″ survey. The company noted a transition from fitness tracking to more health management-centric features.
- Physical activity: 44 percent
- Fitness training: 43 percent
- Weight loss: 37 percent
- Better sleep: 31 percent
- Diagnosis management: 30 percent
Users become more self-aware of following treatment recommendations when a device and connected app are frequently used.
“Information is a powerful motivator. Wearable trackers can be instrumental to one’s journey to fitness, but it’s truly the information that they convey about a person’s progress that helps keep them on track in a rewarding direction.”
Damion Martins, MD, medical director of sports medicine and sports physical therapy for Atlantic Health System
Expect to see more tech-driven devices designed to monitor fitness, improve health, and provide continuous data collection.
Devices such as cardiac monitors, glucose monitors, cardiac and breathing patterns, medical self-assessments wearables, and similar gizmos have made recent appearances.
CHALLENGES AHEAD
Much like any other emerging technology, there are some concerns that must be addressed.
Cybersecurity is a significant issue that cannot be overlooked as part of product development – and post-release, especially for anything heavily reliant on software connectivity.
Anything collecting a wearer’s medical information must be carefully managed and follow particular federal regulations.
RANDOM THOUGHTS
So, it’s not just the millennials and Gen Z generations that have interest in technology – virtual reality, wearables, and GPS trackers are on the top of the wish lists at senior living communities, according to a survey published by the International Council on Active Aging (ICAA).
[Image courtesy of Samuel Zeller / StockSnap]
