Major advancements in healthcare technology have immensely resulted in positive, rapid, and significant development in the patients’ overall care and treatment. Technology continues to evolve each day. With this progress, we surely can expect further advances in terms of wearable tech that can benefit the healthcare sector.
According to Global Data, in 2018 the market share of wearable technology was about $23 Billion, and there are predictions that by the end of 2023, the market will grow to $54 Billion, with a CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) of 19%.
According to Evening Express, it is said that 55% of consumers that use wearable devices believe that the devices have improved their mental health.
Wearable technology has impacted the healthcare industry more than any of the sectors. Healthcare practitioners have largely benefitted from every technological advancement, and the overall impact of wearable technology has been helping doctors, nurses, and first responders to deliver high-quality results.
Patients have been reaping vast advantages from wearable technology, as it helps them recover faster and better.
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Ways wearable tech insights improve healthcare
With the growing sense of health consciousness in the people, wearable health-tracking devices have recently experienced a popularity boom! Both have widely popularized these devices- the customers and the medical health care providers apart from the manufacturers. Many factors make these devices a huge cause behind the health care system’s improvement, some of which are discussed below.
1. Collection of PGHD
These devices provide around-the-clock monitoring of certain health aspects – like pulse rate, blood pressure, oxygen levels, and others called PGHD or “Patient-Generated Health Data.” This makes it easier to detect and trace many health-related issues and makes the health care system very efficient. The usage of PGHD provides a holistic vision of a patient’s health and quality of life, increases visibility into a patient’s treatment plan, and allows timely involvement before any mishap.
2. Round-the-clock monitoring
In conventional ways of collecting the health data, the data is collected only once in a few months (even in routine check-ups), which is very vague. Many factors influence one random collection, and hourly or daily patterns are rarely detected. Even if the patient tries to record the data frequently at home, the lack of technical and medical knowledge does not give accurate results. But with these devices, there is better monitoring as the data collection and analysis is very regular.
3. Record maintenance
It is required or desired by a person to keep records or “health charts” in many cases. These records have been kept for a long time in health journals, but that method is neither convenient nor foolproof. The wearable devices have aced the record maintenance part. Apart from the internal storage that they offer, they can be made to sync with any of the compatible devices to store and retrieve the health data at any time. Some apps can be made to sync with the mobile apps transforming the healthcare industry.
4. Symptom recording
Let us face it; we have all struggled to remember and explain some particular condition symptoms to our doctor. This makes it difficult for the doctor to diagnose the problem. With wearable health devices, the doctor can easily retrieve accurate health data and use it for diagnosis. This also hastens the treatment process and improves the health care system.
Not only do these wearable devices assist in the diagnosis of a disease and record-keeping, but they also help in the early detection of many issues.
For example, in many cases, the perceivable signs of a heart attack may appear to the patient much after the attack. But these devices, by detecting the changes in heart rate, blood pressure, and other parameters, can warn the person so that the necessary preventive or curative measures can be undertaken.
5. Reminders
How many times has it happened that you have forgotten to take your medicines on time or the couples who have missed a chance to get pregnant because they had lost track of their ovulation date, or you have not cared to drink enough water during the day?
It happens with all of us, and the solution to this problem also lies in these health devices. The digital technology transforming the healthcare industry can be customized according to your requirements and prescriptions to remind you that you never skip your medications or dates!
Enhancement of doctor-patient interactions
In the coming time, it is said that wearable technology can revolutionize how doctors and patients share data, interface, and make decisions about healthcare. Patients can have prominent access to information about their own bodies and be more associated with their overall health and wellbeing.
This technology shift towards patient involvement could lead to fewer doctor visits, decrease medical tests, and higher rates of successful treatment. What’s more is that a number of these new advancements will help doctors learn, counsel, and practice effectively. This can affect the advancement of abilities for doctors in even the remotest of areas and give patients access to better medical care without much travel.
Wearable tech devices have the ability to bring positive changes to the healthcare industry, and the best is still yet to come.
Parting thoughts
The best part about these devices is that they provide a real-time data stream. They can be used to trace the full sequential effect of a medication on a patient in the form of a time series. This makes it a huge asset for testing the drug’s actions, its development, or deciding the further course of action.
With the current Covid-19 pandemic, decentralization is slowly growing to become the technological development in the 21st century. Thus, the recent advancements in the healthcare and benefits of wearable tech are aiding in this transition for greater efficiency in medical care and information freedom for patients.
In short, these devices have revolutionized the way medical data has been recorded and analyzed, contributing to the overall development of the medical industry, making health care more efficient, and making the community healthier! With the help of such modern devices, it is not just the patients who are enjoying the benefits, but the doctors as well are.
