Wearable Tracking Devices have Opened Up New Frontiersfor Improved Patient Care

The emergence of digital health and technology has certainly pushed the healthcare industry into a new era of ‘smart’ innovation. Smart technology and wearable are on the rise,providing a new frontier to improve patient care and impact the overall healthcare experience of both patients and providers. With wearable tracking technology, it is possible to track and collect data that can be worked into patient care across the healthcare continuum for a better and much-improved health outcome. Wearable tracking devices like Fitbit, smart-watches, and heart-rate monitors are revolutionizing the healthcare industry and changing the way healthcare is approached across the board to improve patient care and promote positive health outcomes.

In this modern era, a piece of technology in hand or pocket can monitor and track several biological factors and store them as accessible data for medical purposes. Anything from heart rates and sleep cycles to stress levels and physical exercise performed on that day/week/month can be easily tracked and monitored at any given point of time. This type of wearable tracking devices gives healthcare providers a platform to gather comprehensive and accessible information on patient health in an instant. Moreover, the versatility and portability of wearable devices not only appeal the consumers but also allow the healthcare providers to consider themas a means to remotely check-in on patients and cutting down in-person visits or prolonged hospital stay. However, it is essential that data captured by wearables must be well-protected and regulated by the healthcare providers for securing the privacy of the patients and data.

Wearables in Healthcare

Today, wearable technologies are widely adopted by consumers and healthcare providers to measure and track various aspects of health, ranging from heart rates, calorie burn, VO2 levels, and stress levels, to tracking steps and physical activities. Several healthcare organizations have started integrating wearable technologies into patient care to monitor patient vitals and generate new data availability. Wearable health technology that tracks medically useful health information can be deployed in remote monitoring scenarios and help healthcare providers detect the early stages of several serious medical conditions. For those in non-critical conditions, these devices can help receive round-the-clock monitoring directly from healthcare providers, even while-at home or in a remote care facility.

Similarly, wearable devices can minimize the hospital stay and frequent re-visits as it helps care providers regularly track and monitor patient health and provide care only when the vitals are outside the ‘normal’ range. This is particularly beneficial for patients recovering from basis surgeries or having chronic conditions as there is no need to remain under observation for a prolonged period of time.

It’s not just the new technologies that are revolutionizing the healthcare, but the advancements in existing technologies are also making strides. Pacemakers, for instance, are not a new technology, but with new advancements in wireless technologies and ability to transfer data in real time, the capabilities of the device have increased exponentially and is now even being categorized as a “wearable”.

In short, the quality of healthcare administered can be enhanced by utilizing this technology for the benefit of patients and hospitals. No doubt, the wearables market is soaring high in the recent years and the trend will continue to further increase in the future, thanks to the increasing technological advancements like AI, ML, and IoMT.

Improved Patient Experience

With wearable technology facilitating a great deal of patient health data to be captured and stored electronically, it is possible for multiple healthcare providers to access them in an instant. Moreover, complex algorithms like ML can interpret the health information to narrow down diagnosis options and predict probable treatments for the patients. This means, there will be quicker doctor intervention, improving the quality of treatment for patients and saving valuable resources over time. Wearable tracking devices when combined with technological advancements and digital health can facilitate better diagnosis and evaluation of patient health in real-time.

Wearable technology solutions in this field of predictive healthcare can help address a wide range of health issues. For instance, in behavior healthcare, wearable technology has the potential to improve the level of care for patients by regulating their physical and mental response to stress/anxiety triggers and other conditions like stroke, insomnia, depression, and anxiety disorders. The data collected through wearables and health tracking devices can provide better health insight and a predictive analytics, enabling healthcare professionals to provide proactive care rather than reactive care.

Wearable technology and innovations in healthcare are holding immense potential to drive better healthcare outcomes, patientengagement, and manage health, revealing areas of progress and need for improvement. In order to compete and conquer the advancing healthcare industry, it is essential that healthcare professionals are well-equipped with technical, administrative, and healthcare relevant knowledge. As technology-enabled healthcare is on the rise, IIHMR is all set to prepare its students for the transformation.

As a premier institution, IIHMR is pioneering in the field of healthcare management education, bringing in innovative changes through appropriate training, research & development that equips its students with relevant technical and managerial skills and abilities for the new-age healthcare. The executive healthcare management programs and training sessions at IIHMR cater well to the technical demands of the industry, thus providing an efficient platform for the students to excel in their career in the healthcare domain.