The Consumer Technology Association (CTA) and Heart Rhythm Society (HRS) have released a digital health paper recommending best practices for using wearable technology to manage personal health, including detecting and monitoring cardiovascular biometrics.
Presented for the first time during a panel at CES 2020, the paper provides consumer guidance on understanding devices and managing their personal health data.
“The collaboration between HRS and CTA is timely and important for both consumers and clinicians,” says Dr Andrea Russo, president, HRS. “Chronic diseases are increasing in prevalence and wearables help people monitor their health to aid in earlier diagnosis and better management of their conditions; furthermore, they provide information to the user that fosters a healthier lifestyle.”
Rene Quashie, vice-president: digital health at CTA, comments: “Digital health is changing lives for the better – providing more personalised care, delivering better outcomes and lowering costs.
“Wearable solutions are one of the fastest growing sectors in technology. And as more consumers capture personal health information, a cross industry-created guidance document has never been more important to provide clarity on the potential health and wellness benefits of wearables.”
The CTA/HRS Guidance for Wearable Health Solutions paper includes an overview of the wearables landscape and offers advice for consumers on using wearables. A FAQ section tackles topics including data management, when to call a doctor, sharing data with a health provider, data privacy and security policies.
Developed and reviewed by physicians, patient advocates, technology companies and health care organizations, CTA and HRS created these guidelines to answer common questions for consumers that currently own – or want to own – wearables that capture personal health information.
Dr Nassir Marrouche, lead author of the paper, adds: “In this document we aimed to highlight this new intersection between consumer tech and health. We want people to be aware of what these wearables have to offer, how they can increase knowledge about one’s health, and how clinicians are optimistic about the data wearables can deliver.”
According to recent data, CTA projects total sales of digital health devices in the US – such as smartwatches, fitness trackers and blood pressure monitors – will reach $10-billion in revenue in 2020 (up by 16% over last year).