Part 2: Health apps, wearables, and sensors: The advancing frontier of digital health
Issue: BCMJ,
vol. 59 , No. 10 , December 2017 ,
Pages 503-506 Clinical Articles
ABSTRACT: The proliferation of mobile technologies that can measure and gather a variety of data has increased public interest in using consumer electronics to take ownership of personal health and wellness. Apps, wearables, and sensors can unobtrusively gauge physiological and emotional states and collect, quantify, and monitor data regarding a user’s day-to-day behaviors, can provide timely and patient-centred care to those living at a distance with chronic disease, and can be used to coordinate care when multiple providers are involved, reducing costs to the health care system. In all cases, merely tracking data is not enough to maintain health behaviors long-term, and the software must also incorporate motivational constructs important for the adoption and habituation of health-related behaviors. Even though all of these technologies are promising, further research is needed to validate their use and long-term impact and to identify possible risks, from physiological harm to breaching of privacy and confidentiality with insecure devices, and how to mitigate any risks. Before recommending devices or platforms to patients, physicians should experiment with the technologies themselves so they understand the functions and limitations. As well, physicians should be active agents in these evolutionary times, guiding patients, advocating for evidence to support the use of technologies, and participating in the development and incorporation of technology in patient wellness journeys.
As public interest in consumer electronics for improving personal health grows, physicians have an important role to play in guiding patients and advocating for evidence to support the use of these technologies in clinical settings.
With the increasing proliferation and sophistication of mobile phones, wearable devices such as smart watches, and sensors that can measure and gather a variety of data, public interest is growing in using consumer electronics to take ownership of personal health and wellness. A 2015 survey found that 66% of Americans age 66 and older want to use mobile technologies to improve their health by receiving medication reminders and tracking diet and nutrition, physical activity, and symptoms.[1]
How is this growing phenomenon going to affect health service delivery? More importantly, will personal health technology lead to better management and outcomes for our patients, and if so, how can clinicians support this approach and promote it with patients?
Health apps and wearables
Health apps and wearables can unobtrusively gauge physiological and emotional states and collect, quantify, and monitor data regarding a user’s day-to-day behaviors. This “quantified self” can increase users’ self-awareness regarding their behavior and encourage positive changes to their overall health and well-being.[2] These commercially available devices also integrate an array of features to provide motivation through reward systems, opportunities for social in-teraction, tools for self-improvement, and prompts. The novelty, affordability, practicality, and ease of use have resulted in increased consumer enthusiasm and the pervasiveness of these devices.[3,4] With this growing interest in personal health, members of the general public are becoming more involved in monitoring and improving their own health habits.[5-10]
Undoubtedly, merely tracking data through a device is not enough to maintain good health-related behaviors long-term, and the software must also incorporate motivational constructs important for the adoption and habituation of behaviors. For instance, a systematic review of studies that considered the use of electronic activity monitor systems found short-term changes in physical activity with self-monitoring, but no demonstration of superiority when the systems were compared with other interventions.[11] Another review of studies on the viability of using mobile technology for measuring and influencing physical activity found that most apps allow users to document their activity, set goals, review real-time feedback, connect to a social support network, and access online expertise.[12] However, less common among these apps were prompts to act and opportunities for problem solving and action planning, which are crucial constructs that translate intention into long-term behavior change.[13]
Sensor technologies
Sensor technologies have begun to enter the telehealth landscape and are primarily focused on continuous monitoring and precise diagnostics to inform management of various health conditions and diseases.[14-17] Sensors can be integrated into a watch or arm band or adhesive bandages and clothing, and then programmed to collect data on cardiac rhythm, heart rate, blood pressure, respiration, oxygen saturation, galvanic skin response, glucose levels, body temperature, body motions, ambient temperature, and global positioning. For health care providers, sensor inputs can permit remote monitoring, real-time teleconferencing, and timely care for patients with chronic diseases. For both patients and clinicians, telehealth supported by sensors can have profound implications. Clinicians can provide timely and patient-centred care to those living at a distance with chronic disease and can coordinate care when multiple providers are involved, reducing costs to the health care system.
A current clinical example is the management of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation with a mobile ECG and app that monitors the patient’s electrical rhythm to detect frequency and patterns of arrhythmias, and may even allow patients to share ultrasound and electrocardiogram data with their health care provider.[18-20] Telemonitoring with sensors can also support self-management of chronic diseases and detect early signs of deterioration in health requiring immediate treatment and advice.[21] Studies to date have demonstrated some clinical promise for the use of home telemonitoring in the context of heart failure and diabetes. A recent Cochrane review found that telemonitoring was an effective way to lower levels of glycated hemoglobin and low-density lipoprotein.[22] Although several studies on heart failure have produced conflicting results regarding the overall benefits of home monitoring,[23-26] systematic reviews have suggested that home telemonitoring reduces all-cause mortality and hospitalizations, and improves quality of life compared with usual care.[22,27] In addition, features such as automated and mobile telemonitoring appear to be more effective compared with other forms of home telemonitoring.[27]
Further studies are needed to determine how home health monitoring can improve patient safety during the transition from acute care to community care, and to examine the impact of home monitoring on health care costs. TEC4Home (Telehealth for Emergency-Community Continuity of Care Connectivity via Home Tele-monitoring), an initiative of the University of British Columbia and Vancouver Coastal Health, is seeking to do this with prospective trials designed to uncover how telemonitoring can support the safety of heart failure patients discharged from hospital to home.[28]
Mobile apps, wearables, and sensors in the clinical setting
Even though mobile apps, wearables, and sensor technologies are promising, further research is needed to validate their use and long-term impact.[29] This research will require the collaboration of clinicians, health researchers, engineers, and computer scientists.[30] Understanding the possible risks of using these technologies, from physiological harm to breaching of privacy and confidentiality with insecure devices, and how to mitigate any risks is also important. Other important issues to consider include patient anxiety with overuse of technologies, health data piracy, self-diagnosis resulting from overreliance on self-monitoring, and patients not seeking help appropriately. These technologies should be used only as complementary tools in the treatment and prevention of health conditions and disease and should not be used in isolation by patients who self-diagnose and self-manage without consulting a health professional.
Examples of three apps that physicians may wish to recommend to their patients follow:
• Instant Heart Rate by Azumio.[31] A free app downloadable to both Apple and Android operating systems that measures heart rate and displays a monitoring strip. As well as helping users accurately track their heart rates, the app is capable of detecting irregular rhythms when palpitations occur.
• Sleep Time by Azumio.[32] A free app that monitors sleep patterns, sleep efficiency, and also acts as an alarm clock. Users can know how often they go into light and deep sleep, and recognize how much of these types of sleep will be necessary for them to feel rested, thereby quantifying the amount of true sleep they need and not just how long they should stay in bed.
• Bellybio Interactive Breating by RelaxLine.[33] A free app that helps users pace their breathing to achieve calmness. Placing the mobile phone against the abdomen, users can follow the sounds emitted to practise deep, abdominal breathing using this simple yet surprisingly effective tool.
Before recommending these and other apps to patients, physicians should experiment with the technologies themselves so they understand the functions and limitations.
Clearly, it is increasingly important for physicians to have knowledge of the devices and platforms now available so that they can prescribe them to their patients in the appropriate contexts, and provide ongoing support on appropriate and safe use. Patients look to their physicians for discernment, expertise and experience, partnership, trials, and humility (DEPTH):
• Discernment to determine whether a particular app, wearable, or sensor can be effective.
• Expertise and experience to guide patients on the use of technology.
• Partnership with patients in pursuit of optimal health through technology use.
• Trials to closely monitor benefits and drawbacks.
• Humility to recognize that patients may know and invest much more time than physicians in looking for these tools.34
Conclusions
Based on today’s rapid pace of development and public enthusiasm for the technology marketplace, health apps, wearables, and sensors will soon become integral to our patients’ pursuits of good health and will need to be integrated in clinical practice. Physicians must be active agents in these evolutionary times, guiding patients, advocating for evidence to support the use of technologies, and participating in the development and incorporation of technology in patient wellness journeys. Through clinical stewardship and partnership with patients, physicians can use their expertise and experience to guide the growth of innovations into mainstream health care.
Competing interests
Dr Ho receives no personal financial compensation as the principal investigator of TEC4Home (Telehealth for Emergency-Community Continuity of Care Connectivity via Home Tele-monitoring), a project funded by a Canadian Institutes of Health Research grant. This grant is matched by the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research and the BC Ministry of Health, with additional support provided by TELUS Health and Sentrian. TELUS Health, Cisco, and Avizia have also provided equipment for display in Dr Ho’s Demonstration and Simulation Studio for Health (DaSSH) at UBC. Mr Yao and Dr Lauscher have no competing interests to declare.
This article has been peer reviewed.
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Dr Ho is an emergency physician at Vancouver General Hospital. He is also a professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine at the University of British Columbia, lead of Digital Emergency Medicine, and executive director of iCON (interCultural Online Health Network), a community engagement initiative funded by the BC Ministry of Health to support chronic disease prevention and self-management. Mr Yao is a research associate with Digital Emergency Medicine at the University of British Columbia. Dr Novak Lauscher is research manager for Digital Emergency Medicine at the University of British Columbia.