In the very first episode of “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” the android Data begins rattling off a series of facts and figures, prepared to go on ad infinitum, until he is cut off by his shipmates.
Senior caregivers and healthcare providers may face a similar data problem in the real world with certain devices whose bountiful output may be hard to contextualize.
Many tech tools in long-term care, such as sensor systems, are focused on a fairly narrow set of parameters to solve very specific problems (such as preventing falls). But some wearable devices may not be as tightly calibrated, health tech experts state.
The note comes in a review highlighting “key issues” for wearable health tech that was recently published in the New England Journal of Medicine. The review was intended as a companion to research which evaluated wearables’ ability to monitor diabetes and heart disease.
Those latter studies affirmed wearables’ value, and the new review is meant less as a criticism of existing tools, but rather a way for healthcare providers to consider how such devices are helping, the authors stated.
“As wearable DHTs [digital health tools] are integrated into routine clinical care,” the study authors wrote, “the volume of the data generated will pose workflow challenges that must be addressed, including incorporation into electronic health records. Data standards and interoperability must be established and used consistently.”
Another concern the researchers raised was whether patients will have access to the data collected by wearables, and whether users will have “data literacy” to find such diagnostics meaningful.
The authors of the wearables analysis conclude by stating that “work must be done,” in terms of planning and innovation, to avoid “widening the digital divide,” a concern that applies both to seniors who may not be tech savvy, as well as marginalized demographics.
Long-term care facilities have been making use of wearable tech for residents in a variety of contexts, including as part of a personalized fitness regimen. Other, more forward-looking tools could be used to monitor for dementia or long COVID symptoms, McKnight’s recently reported.
