How Wearables Are Changing The Way We Look At Healthcare

By Author: Fazmeena
Total Articles: 4
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People are active participants in healthcare today. The advancements in technology has made it possible for people to take control of their health. Among the amazing innovations that are revolutionizing the healthcare industry, one that is trending today is wearables. From smart watches to smart rings, activity trackers, smart glasses and VR headsets, wearables are of many types. Collectively, they are creating a revolution by empowering people to drive change in the way we look at healthcare.

Without any doubt, wearable technology is going to be an unavoidable part of the future healthcare ecosystem. While we are yet to fully know the extent to which they will influence the medical landscape, the role they play in healthcare today gives us a fair idea. In this article, we take a look at five ways in which wearables are transforming healthcare.

Real-time health monitoring

As the acceptance and demand for remote healthcare is growing, real-time health monitoring has become vital in many cases. Wearable health monitors, worn by patients, act as a means of communication between doctors and patients. ...
... These devices monitor the required vitals and convey the information to doctors in real-time. In post-surgical care and other sensitive scenarios where patients need to be monitored regularly for a period of time, real-time health monitoring devices are useful tools and enhance the efficiency of treatments.

Fitness wearables

Fitness wearables need no introduction. They are helping millions of people achieve their lifestyle goals today. Fitness trackers are modeled as bands or watches and help people monitor and track fitness related parameters such as number of steps taken, heartbeat, sleep quality, calories consumed and so on. With such efficient tracking devices, people are encouraged to keep tabs on their physical activities and create a healthy lifestyle. Apple watches, Fitbit wearables and trackers from Nike are some of the popular fitness wearables today that stand out for their amazing smartwatch design.

Chronic disease management

Chronic disease management is one of the biggest challenges of the healthcare industry and wearables propose solutions to address this challenge. These wearables can be attached to the body of the patients and programmed to track symptoms of attacks. The data is communicated to the doctors via a mobile app or web portal, keeping them alert if any emergencies occur. Patients with chronic diseases like diabetes, asthma, fragile heart conditions, etc. can be monitored and managed efficiently using these chronic disease management wearables. When early symptoms can be identified, it becomes easier for doctors to minimize the attacks and help patients better.

Stress management

Most people battle with stress on a daily basis today. It hinders their wellbeing and leads to physical and mental conditions such as obesity, anxiety, migraine, etc. Stress management is necessary for a healthy lifestyle and the introduction of wearables in this area is a huge blessing. Wearables that detect stress levels and give insights on how to regain stability are already available in the market today. Further research is being conducted to present this solution in a more effective way and it will no doubt be well accepted in the future.

Elderly care

Elderly people are at an increased risk of falling sick and are also challenged with impairments related to vision, motor skills, hearing and so on. Wearables can assist in providing quality elderly care in various ways. Wrist bands to monitor health vitals, smart glasses to manage eyesight and related issues, hearables to improve challenges in hearing are just some ways in which wearables enhance elderly care. Reports say that by 2050, 1 out of 6 people will be over the age of 65. Hence, the demand for elerly care will be significantly high in the future and wearables can offer useful assistance in this aspect.

Wearables are touching every aspect of the medical ecosystem and incrementally improving the efficiency of care. As wearable technology grows so rapidly, it becomes imperative to address the various challenges that it poses. Data privacy, data processing and efficiency of use are some key areas that need to be taken into account while developing wearables. In the case of fitness wearables, design also plays an incredible role in making them usable and is one challenging aspect that wearable manufacturers need to look at. Hiring a UI UX design agency to take care of the design aspects will be a necessity to stand out as the competition increases in the wearable market.