Wearable Devices: The Impact on Personalized Healthcare

Technology’s intersection with healthcare has enabled more streamlined workflows, increased patient engagement, and proactive patient monitoring. During the height of the global pandemic, the healthcare industry implemented tech-based solutions to deliver telehealth services to serve the unprecedented demand for patient care. Precedence Research has reported the telehealth market size will reach $57 billion, and this lucrative revenue opportunity can be a boon to software providers because of telehealth’s versatility. Telehealth is software-driven and not limited to a particular device or method to deliver services.

The advent of mobile medical apps and wearable devices has had a transformative impact on healthcare. Healthcare providers with the help of software experts can continue building on telehealth’s success while working to achieve outcome-based patient goals. Outcome-based healthcare focuses on clearly defining patient health goals and tracking progress over time, focusing on individualized treatment plans and overall success. Software specialists are critical in the healthcare industry’s goal to successfully create and implement personalized healthcare plans and promote patient engagement.

Introduction to Mobile Health and Wearable Devices

Mobile health utilizes connected devices to educate patients about their health while offering healthcare providers a new medium to discuss and implement patient care plans, monitor patient vitals, and supervise prescription intake. Monitoring chronic diseases via mobile health services is a viable option for the healthcare industry as it seeks new strategies to reduce significant costs associated with chronic disease treatment.

The National Health Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (NCCDPHP) cites chronic diseases as the leading causes of illness, disability, and death in the U.S. and are largely responsible for the nation’s $4.1 trillion annual healthcare costs. Mobile health offers cost-effective treatment options because care plans do not often involve expensive, in-person visits. Patients suffering from chronic diseases can be effectively and remotely monitored by their chosen provider by utilizing wearable devices.

Wearable devices enhanced by software designers include IoT-based sensors and are implemented to collect patient data for healthcare providers to monitor remotely. This expands mobile health and the scope of treatment methods. Healthcare providers can remotely monitor patient vitals critical in patient assessments that determine the course of care plans. This facilitates a more streamlined approach to patient data access, enabling healthcare providers to offer real-time insight while reducing costs associated with in-person consultations. Wearable devices also promote more active patient engagement because individuals have more accessibility to their health records and progress, unlike traditional care structures that require arduous paths to health records and treatment plans.

When wearable medical devices are applied to patients struggling with heart disease, they can independently monitor cardiovascular health by having real-time access to heart rate and electrical activity. Healthcare providers can make instant recommendations to patients via connected devices. The NCCDPHP reports heart disease and strokes are responsible for over 877,000 annual deaths in the U.S. Expert-level software developers can create customized mobile health app programs implemented via wearables to specifically adhere to each individual’s care plan, as directed by the healthcare provider.

Examples of Wearable Health Devices

Wearable health devices enable versatility with health monitoring and data tracking because expert-level mobile health app developers can customize devices to implement individualized care plans. Consumers can independently utilize the technology for their personal health tracking, and the data analytics can be as user-friendly as touch-screen icons. Individuals can gain greater insight into their heath and can monitor blood glucose rate, heart rate, caloric intake, blood pressure rate and several other crucial data points that can impact quality of life.

Fitness trackers and smartwatch markets have grown exponentially and capitalized on facilitating individual and patient empowerment. Verified Market Research, a research and consulting firm projects the smart wearable healthcare device market to reach $37.4 billion by 2028. The versatility of wearable health devices serves a large demographic, and coupled with strong market forecasts, it creates a steady new revenue opportunity for software specialists seeking to enter the mobile health app development market.

Wearable health devices enable individuals suffering from chronic health issues to gain greater insight into their health by immediately alerting them to physical changes in real time. These software-driven devices can mitigate chronic diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, and obesity. The NCCDPHP reports obesity seriously impacts 20% of U.S. children and 42% of adults and costs the healthcare system nearly $173 billion annually. Several wearable health devices are dedicated to personal fitness and enabling users to achieve personal health goals, including weight loss and cardiovascular strength.

Challenges of Wearable Devices within Mobile Health

Technology often evolves faster than regulatory processes. Wearable health devices create new paths to providing streamlined, accessible healthcare that can enable individualized care plans but concerns have been raised over data compliance.

Privacy is a key concern for patients, consumers, and healthcare providers. If a consumer utilizes wearable technology for personal use, HIPAA is not applicable. Suppose a healthcare provider utilizes wearable devices within a patient care plan. In that case, the data collected and shared with a physician’s electronic health record (EHR) system is protected and subjected to all HIPAA regulations. Consumer wearables that collect data are not always held to the same standards as traditionally collected and analyzed medical data. This data can certainly be an important resource for measuring individual health. Still, data collected on wearable devices under the supervision of healthcare providers offer the most accurate patient information used to develop and implement optimized and personalized healthcare.

The market for wearable medical devices continues growing and, as such, will require enhanced data security from software specialists to ensure all data collection and communication with providers and patients adheres to current HIPAA regulations and any future regulatory protocols.

The Future of Wearable Devices in Mobile Health

Mobile health and telehealth have proven strong market performers, even in post-pandemic communities. Demand has increased exponentially, and according to ResearchAndMarkets, the global telehealth market size is expected to reach $455.3 billion by 2030.

Continued enhancements in digital infrastructure attributed to software developers will further drive the wearable health device market, providing software companies with a lucrative opportunity for consistent revenue because the technology is software-reliant for optimal functionality.

Healthcare providers have adapted to the advent of telehealth and mobile health by embracing tech-based resources to enhance patient experiences and promote patient empowerment. Their willingness to utilize new resources, such as wearable medical devices, reinforces their place as a means to achieve outcome-based healthcare goals. Skilled software engineers are integral to ensuring a streamlined delivery of mobile health services, adhering to HIPPA and HL7 compliance, and creating effective partnerships with the healthcare industry as it seeks new avenues to elevate and modernize personalized patient care.