The availability of new smart wearable sensors (SWS) make it much easier to gather and analyze personal data. Wirelessly tracking vitals, nutrition, sleep, and other life variables has become much easier. These sensors are smaller, smarter and much less costly, making it possible to take the same quantitative methods formerly used in science and business and apply them to our personal lives.

By analyzing the data generated by these devices, we have greater control over our own health and well-being. We can devise ways to deal with health problems, emotions, productivity, and ultimately improve our overall quality of life. The social and financial implications are astounding. As more people turn to self-monitoring, these smart sensors will help prevent disease, prolong lives, and reduce medical costs.

There are many dynamics impacting the cost of healthcare. Medicare is moving to accountability measures; insurance costs keep increasing; more complex medical procedures are developed every day and, most importantly, we have a longer living aging population. Because sensors improve health monitoring and disease management overall, they create better quality of care which will help offset rising cost factors.

Despite significant progress within the monitoring device industry, the widespread integration of this technology into medical practice remains somewhat fleeting. To date, wearables have lacked the design and ease of use that helped smartphones attain their success. What is needed is an easy to use, wearable device that can monitor multiple vitals.

According to Pew Internet Research, who carried out the first U.S. national self-tracking survey, 69% of U.S. adults track at least one health indicator for themselves, or a loved one and approximately half of them stated that tracking these variables has changed their overall approach to health. Out of the 3014 subjects surveyed, 60% stated they tracked their weight, diet, or exercise routines, 33% tracked health indicators or symptoms like blood pressure, blood sugar, headache, or sleep patterns, and 12% tracked health indicators or symptoms for a loved one. This demonstrates a growing interest from the population to being able to access this information. The SWS and other emerging patient driven technology are particularly focusing on the earlier stages of healthcare, targeting prevention rather than reacting towards unfavorable outcomes. Consumer reflection on SWS data could be extended to innovative perspectives to the overall consideration of health care. The patient can become more of an informed participant and take active responsibility in their health by taking healthy preventative measures. By providing health management data, the quantified self-engages healthy patients in a variety of self-tracking and management methods that can be utilized for disease prevention, further developing the overall health care system.

A 3rd party view on the subject was published on October 1, 2015 which I share within my blog.

By Vera Gruessner on October 01, 2015

Remote patient monitoring remains a vital aspect of strengthening patient health outcomes and the quality of care across the medical field. Cardiovascular patients, for instance, could benefit from having their blood pressure and heart rate measured on a regular basis while residing at home. Cardiologists would also be able to better track patients when remote patient monitoring equipment is used outside of the hospital.

Today, remote patient monitoring technology has a wide variety of functions including determining respiration rate, cardiac output, oxygen and carbon dioxide levels in the blood, and body temperature. Forbes reported on some common trends taking place right now in ever-evolving remote patient monitoring technology.

For example, wireless sensor tools such as wearable devices are now replacing the old-fashioned wired technology reminiscent of offices filled with wires and cables. Today technology is becoming wearable as smart watches and smart glasses take over many common processes of the physician workflow.

It is expected that by 2018, more than five million wearable, mobile medical sensors will be purchased and used throughout the healthcare space. Most importantly, remote patient monitoring sensors will be able to alert doctors and nurses about any important changes in vital signs.

This type of continuous stream of data could truly revolutionize patient care, as it would allow medical providers to analyze information on a larger population health management platform. Additionally, the federal government has aimed its efforts in both reducing the costs of care while improving the quality of services throughout the medical industry.

Remote patient monitoring technology can be a key method for reducing costs and boosting patient health outcomes. For instance, doctors who find a change in vital signs in their cardiac patients would be able to change their medication before a more serious problem arises and, thereby, reduce the need for emergency room visits.

With the addition of telemedicine services, doctors can both track patients’ health status at home and communicate about any ongoing problems via video-based consultations remotely.

Additionally, Forbes reports on research that predicts 19 million patients will be monitored remotely by 2018. Clearly, there is an ongoing rise in remote patient monitoring technology due to healthcare reforms and new health IT implementations.

“Many factors are critical to the rising demand for remote patient monitoring devices, chiefly including the rising availability of user-friendly, portable devices, and the rising prevalence of chronic conditions such as diabetes, respiratory diseases, and a number of cardiovascular diseases across the globe,” Transparency Market Research reported in a press release.

“However, there are also certain factors, such as lack of reimbursement coverage and concerns related to privacy and security of data, related to remote patient monitoring devices that can hamper the market’s growth.”

A major ongoing trend in healthcare today is the accumulation and analysis of Big Data. This offers a major area of research and new treatment opportunities for patients. New technologies like remote monitoring systems offer a clear path for collecting more information and boosting the analysis of Big Data. Clearly, healthcare trends today are leading to a greater need for remote patient monitoring technology and health IT systems.

End of 3rd party article

Other challenges remain, but are solvable

Another major barrier for the implementation of SWS is the reliability and efficiency of sensor systems and the ability to accurately distribute the data wirelessly. Addressing data security and ownership are also major concerns of any cloud-based offering. The balance between the patient as the owner of data and use of the data must be managed, with patient confidentiality always at the forefront without impeding the development of innovative solutions.

The evolution of SWS and their ability to track mobility, health indicators, and symptoms have great potential that can revolutionize the healthcare system and change patient behavior. Driven by the consumer, emerging patient driven healthcare models are contributing to shaping a positive future for healthcare with the patient at the epicenter. Rather than a physician reacting to an event that occurred to a patient, the SWS distributes responsibility to the patients which can lead to more personalized medicine. There has already been a host of clinical applications involving SWS that have been analyzed, including but not limited to blood pressure, cardiac monitoring, respiratory rate, blood electrolyte and glucose concentration systems, neurological monitoring, and physical therapy and rehabilitation medicine. These technologies are continuously being improved upon and can extend into any field of medicine. However, the integration of wireless technologies requires an infrastructure of evidence regarding reliability, validity, and responsiveness for each application across a range of disease and injury related disorders while also contributing to preventative methods. Advances are being made in the smart sensor space every day, the possibilities are limitless.

Smart bio-sensors empower people to learn more about their own health. Equipped with more knowledge, individuals can better participate in decision-making with their doctors. Awareness helps to avoid costly procedures and specialist visits while, at the same time, allow an individual to know when to seek professional help.

This article was originally posted on LinkedIn.