Friend, Stephen H., Geoffrey S. Ginsburg, and Rosalind W. Picard. "Wearable Digital Health Technology." New England Journal of Medicine 389.22 (2023): 2100-2101.

Abstract

"Wearables” is a term used for forms of technology that are worn on the body, such as smartwatches or adhesive patches containing sensors, and that perform a useful function for the wearer or a caregiver. Common examples include devices that track physical activity and sleep or provide physiological data about the wearer, such as heart rate and rhythm or blood glucose levels. Increasingly, wearables are being used by medical professionals to provide clinical data on their patients and for their patients. This digital health technology (DHT) that is worn by patients and connected through mobile apps or personal digital assistants can be used for disease monitoring, diagnostics, alerts, or other clinical care services. In this series, we refer to this specific class of technology as “wearable DHT.”

Is wearable DHT going to improve patient outcomes and clinical practice? Or is it just a trend that will pass, like so many consumer devices and their well-being claims?