The wearable tech industry, led by devices like smartwatches, is booming, offering features that track heart rate, sleep, exercise, and even body temperature. According to the BBC, with proposals like England’s Health Secretary suggesting wearable devices for NHS patients to monitor symptoms from home, the technology seems poised to revolutionize healthcare.
Yet, many doctors remain cautious about integrating wearable health data into medical practice, but why?
Wearable devices like the Oura smart ring boast features that claim to predict illness or monitor health trends. Anecdotes abound, such as wearables alerting users to elevated temperatures or disrupted sleep before they feel unwell. But while such data may feel insightful, healthcare professionals have mixed opinions on its practical value.
Dr. Jake Deutsch, a U.S.-based clinician and advisor for Oura, believes wearable data allows for more precise health assessments. However, Oxford GP Dr. Helen Salisbury has reservations. While some patients bring their wearable data into consultations, she worries it could lead to hypochondria and unnecessary doctor visits.
Minor fluctuations in heart rate or body temperature, she notes, often result from normal physiological changes or device inaccuracies rather than underlying illness.
Wearable tech can also give a false sense of security. For instance, a smartwatch won’t necessarily detect serious conditions like cancer. “What wearables do best is encourage good habits,” says Dr. Salisbury, emphasizing the timeless importance of walking more, limiting alcohol, and maintaining a healthy weight.
Technical challenges also contribute to the skepticism. Dr. Yang Wei, an associate professor at Nottingham Trent University, explains that wearable devices must balance power efficiency and accuracy, often sacrificing the latter. Movement and device placement further add “noise” to the data, making it less reliable.
Even the lack of standardization in sensors, software, and data formats complicates how wearable-generated information integrates with clinical systems.
False positives are another issue. Stories of devices misinterpreting activities as emergencies, like an Apple Watch mistakenly alerting emergency contacts during a race track session, illustrate the limits of wearables’ algorithms. As Ben Wood, a wearable tech user, reflects, “The boundaries between incident and alert need to be managed carefully.”
The potential for wearable health tech remains significant, particularly in decentralizing healthcare and reducing hospital loads. However, as Pritesh Mistry of the Kings Fund notes, integrating patient-generated data into healthcare systems requires robust infrastructure, workforce training, and clear standards, elements that remain works in progress.
For now, wearable devices are best seen as tools to inspire healthier habits, rather than replacements for professional medical advice.
Photo by leungchopan
