The Future of Wearable Tech for Healthcare

Sporting the latest wearable tech has become nearly de rigueur for many individuals in today’s society. While smartwatches and fitness trackers are exceedingly popular, studies have shown that 98 million healthcare wearables will be shipped worldwide by the year 2021, with a variety of self-serve data available to users by the start of the next decade.

For the healthcare industry, the next iteration of the wearable tech movement expects to yield more distinct data related to patient engagement. A wide range of companies are investigating the possibilities of incorporating wearable tech to report information back to users, from Nike using nano-technology in clothing to track heart rates and blood pressure during exercise to a Google contact lens project for diabetes patients that will allow these patients to  measure their glucose levels via analysis of their tears. 

With the wearable market expected to be a $75 billion dollar industry by 2025, healthcare information via wearables will continue to be an area of focus in the next 10 years. Data from PwC Health Research Institute indicated that 50 percent of physicians believe that e-visits could replace up to 10 percent of in-office visits; usage of healthcare, wellness and medical apps has grown by 16 percent year over year; while 50 percent of consumers and 79 percent of physicians believe mobile devices and smartphones can improve patient coordination with their physicians.

While wearable tech is driving innovation for providers and patients, increasing patient satisfaction with the process is still important to deliver positive healthcare outcomes. Plans and providers need to develop engagement systems to be able to deliver pertinent information to patients, and with these systems in place, the data provided by wearables and other technology can be optimized and contribute to better patient outcomes.

While there might be endless possibilities of wearable tech to measure patient engagement, health plans and PBMs should begin investing in messaging platforms that cover all aspects of the patient experience. RxEOB has created a complete healthcare messaging application and platform to help drive better patient, provider and PBM outcomes across the spectrum of patient engagement. To learn more about how RxEOB can assist your healthcare organization, please contact us at 888-648-0989 ext. 226, or email us at info@rxeob.com.