Wearable Technology in Healthcare

Wearable technology is the perpetual evolution of new digital devices utilized as individual fitness and wellness trackers to observing a patient’s health condition in real-time and automatically transferring the data to a remote health informatics framework. The advancements in wearable development have endless potential, including the interfacing of the medical internet of things, which allows for effective management of chronic diseases and public health concerns such as heart disease and diabetes. Wearable devices engage patients to have an active role in living a healthy lifestyle. The purpose of this paper is to review wearable technology design and functionality, patient care, the nurse leader, and to address the advantages and disadvantages of wearables.

Design and Characteristics

Wearable technologies major component states (Aroganam, Manivannan, Harrison, 2019) is a microcontroller also known as a mini-computer or a system on a chip allowing the internet of things to be enabled and minimizes the number of electronic modules required to perform different functions on one chip. In addition to microcontrollers, several essentials for wearables to function is the interface, integrated circuits, communication, data storage, and energy management. Data is remotely transferred between devices by means of the interface. The data is collected via integrated circuits such as sensors, global positioning systems, and receivers. Communication controls connectivity transferring information by wireless systems, Bluetooth technology, and radio frequencies. Data storage utilizes the cloud comments (Godfrey, Bonato, Shum, Stuart, 2019), where large amounts of health-related information are integrated and is a source for data sharing. Another essential function is energy management, which is the battery life used to power the device. In contrast to other mobile devices, wearables are to be continuously on and linked with monitoring devices, which may result in short battery life. Wearable devices are known to function a lot of the same computing tasks as a tablet and mobile phone.

The Internet of Things is a network of connected devices which are significant according to (Wilson, 2017) because “an object which can represent itself digitally becomes something greater than the object itself.” Wearables are an example of this designed network with software, electronics, and connectivity acting as producers that allow numerous devices to collect and exchange data via the internet with other connected devices

Range of functionality

Wearables devices are available in many forms, such as smart wristbands, watches, shoes, headbands, eyeglasses (Google glass), and necklaces. Some devices are very popular with consumers, such as the on-wrist activity trackers (Fitbit) and mobile phone applications. Other devices are designed for healthcare professionals to monitor a patient’s daily physical activities and behaviors, in addition to physiological and biological limits. These devices are capable of capturing data such as heart rate, heart rhythms, blood pressure, gait abnormalities, body temperature, number of calories burned, blood oxygen saturation, and detect abnormal sleep patterns.

The sensors within each wearable device allow the devices to be networked together, capture raw data and transfer it to an analytical database or software application as well as send data via the internet to care, providers, caregivers, and family members. Typically, this process creates a reaction. For example, a physician is alerted to contact a patient who is experiencing abnormal symptoms, or a celebratory text message when an individual achieves a diet or fitness goal.

Nursing practice and patient care

A wide range of healthcare settings is utilizing the technological advances of wearable patient-monitoring devices. These devices can identify a panorama of vital patient information such as cardiac and respiratory rates, rehabilitation progress, exercise physiology, glucose levels, neurologic, and gait disturbances. Such types of frequent or continuous monitoring is a noninvasive technique that leads to increase patient satisfaction and mobility. Besides sensing capabilities, wearable technology also has diagnostic applications assisting nurses and healthcare providers in creating patient care plans and treatments.

Wearable technology can provide efficiency and accuracy benefits to nurses when used to prevent or minimize potential adverse events, improve communication with the rest of the medical team faster and more accurately, keep meticulous records, and effectively monitor the patient's environment. In situations when a nurse needs to perform a procedure, wearable devices can provide the precise steps to take and the potential challenges through links to videos or texts shared by nursing colleagues. Wearables have the capability to assist nurses’ multi-task with less stress and better results.

Nurses interacting with patients who take advantage of these technologies can promote self-management skills, encourage healthier lifestyles, and assist with monitoring schedules regularly. Wearable technology is not merely used to collect patient data by healthcare professionals; the objective is to enable each patient to screen one’s health progress and take on a more active role in treatment.

Nursing Leader

Informatics nurses, according to (Bove, 2019) are “concerned with the creation, structure, storage, delivery, exchange, interoperability, and reuse of nursing and clinical information along the continuum of care.” They have a fundamental comprehension of the available types of data from wearable tracking devices and can appreciate the value patients see in the data. Also, they are familiar with the precision, consistency, and legitimacy of data and the ability to evaluate its potential value in the electronic medical records.

Nurse leaders are educated in the management of information frameworks and perceived to be digitally astute in various types of innovation. They will continue to stay well-educated on the evolution of these technologies and evaluate new frameworks chosen for particular settings. An essential role of the nurse leader is to be an advocate on the introduction and implementation of new technologies by encouraging and training the staff to accept any changes.

Nurses who are certified in nursing informatics (MSN, DNP) has a significant role in analyzing the technical and clinical issues of a project or concerns that impact processes and health outcomes such as workflow, reduction in errors, and patient care delays. Take one example; a nurse informaticist maybe approached to analyze data to identify potential sources of patient hospital readmissions and afterward work with the IT department to create technical procedures which would flag specific factors to health care providers assisting in the management of possible issues before they result in an additional visit to the hospital.

Advantages and Disadvantages

Wearable technology offers many advantages states (Bove, 2019) from engaging individuals to become more involved in their overall health along with educating on how behaviors such as nutrition, exercise, and sleep habits can have effects on their well-being. For those patients who are homebound or reside in remote areas, medical services are now easily accessible. These patients can transmit personal information, data, and measurements to healthcare providers to review, diagnosis, and create a treatment plan without traveling to a medical center.

An additional advantage of healthcare wearables when utilized in the clinical decision-making process gives providers immediate access to information from various medical resources and drug reference databases on types of disease, diagnosis, and medication to develop and implement a treatment program. Wearable applications also can simplify the workflow process and improve productivity. At the time of a patient’s assessment, nurses and physicians can quickly gain access to the patient’s data, lab results, and measurements. All necessary findings are recorded; as a result, the providers can spend additional time with patients.

The advancement of wearables offers incredible advantages; however, for some, they represent a complex mixture of challenges. Wearables tend to have a reasonably short battery life requiring the user to remove the device for charging regularly. On occasion, a few wearables have been reported to miscalculate data, which can be specifically risky when measuring heart rates.

Another matter of considerable concern comments (Wu, Min, Luo, Jake, 2019) is ensuring patient confidentiality and data security meet HIPAA guidelines when transmitting over the network. With large data sets produced, there is more concern about data abuse as well as increasing public disclosure of personal information.

Conclusion

The innovation in wearable technology has expanding throughout the decade, with a significant role in the progression of healthcare. These smart devices and applications were not only designed to assist individuals/consumers with a healthier lifestyle by monitoring diet and heart rates but also provided new possibilities for healthcare professionals to improve the quality of patient care. The experience of obtaining and utilizing measurements from wearables will alter clinical practice with the engagement of patients in self-care and clinical decision making.

Wearables open up a new healthcare delivery model allowing providers and patients to connect regardless of locations. Wearable technology, according to (Smith, 2019) offers a one-stop-shop where patients can be monitored in his/her natural living surroundings, potentially offering better insight compared to occasional office visits for clinical observation, resulting in a reduction in financial cost. Access to continuous data collection from various sources, clinical and behavioral, provides greater visibility into a patient’s health status, which in turn allows for healthcare providers to make accurate decisions on a treatment plan.