Data from wearables are playing a bigger role in patient care. Wearable devices like watches and fitness trackers are bringing increased health awareness to healthcare providers and patients and are generating an immense amount of data that can be used to inform patient care.
A doctor can take advantage of someone’s Apple Watch or Fitbit by encouraging patients to engage with their health full-time. Apple Watches can warn you of loud noise to protect against hearing damage, track your menstrual cycle, detect falls and call for help, alert you if you have an abnormal heart rhythm, detect high and low heart rate, calm you down in times of stress, and track your activity levels. Fitbits can be used for tracking sleeping patterns, monitoring and tracking heart rate, keeping track of the level of oxygen in blood, and GPS tracking during exercise. If a person can track their sleep, heart, physical activity, and stress they are more likely to modify any detrimental behavior before it’s too late! And when doctors have a read out of the data on these wearable devices they can have a clearer picture of the petite’s health status and are more likely to give them the right diagnosis and the proper remedy!
With more people owning mobile health technology the greater population can be more engaged participants in their own care. Which means they'll be less reliant on doctors and doctors can be less overworked! This will usher in an era where people are more responsible for their own health and preventive medicine can be improved which will save more lives going forward
As time goes on, Healthcare providers can go beyond predictive methods and use hard core data in the decision-making process! This will save money for all and give people more time to enjoy life and a longer life itself!
Tim Cole