Blogs

Advances in medical monitoring are revolutionising healthcare – Part One

Sales of smartphones hit record highs in 2014 and the market continues to grow rapidly. Many have attributed this to the use of health and fitness monitoring apps by both consumers and patients, writes Neil Oliver, the technical marketing manager at Accutronics in the first part of his blog.High profile trials of Apple’s HealthKit monitoring platform are already underway in both Stanford and Duke University Hospitals in the US to ascertain the benefits of transparency in patient data. The total number of mobile phones sold globally reached 1.8bn in 2014, of which over 1.2bn consisted solely of smartphone sales. This is according to reports by research firm Gartner which also showed that Apple recently overtook Samsung to become the highest grossing mobile vendor in history.

It’s interesting then, to note that the next step in innovation has seen the global electronics giant target the medical sector with its HealthKit platform. Specifically designed to provide better use of patient data, the app ecosystem will tap into the wealth of information generated from health monitoring apps on smartphones, smartwatches and other portable and wearable fitness devices. This is an exciting time for the industry, reminiscent of the early days of aviation or the Internet, during which anything seemed possible.

So what is it that Apple, along with the likes of Google, IBM and Microsoft, all exploring their own health platforms, sees in the medical industry? To understand the reasons behind this trend it’s important to look at how we currently approach healthcare.

As born survivors, it’s human nature to put off going to the doctor. When we do eventually make a trip, the doctor has a finite amount of time available, often with very limited background data at hand, to make an accurate diagnosis and to prescribe effective medication or treatment plans. This reactive approach has been the norm for as long as modern healthcare has existed.

Patients with long-term chronic conditions such as hypertension, diabetes and heart disease are already familiar with regular self-monitoring and treatment. Keeping food diaries, testing blood sugar levels, weighing yourself regularly and tracking the rise and fall of blood pressure throughout the day is now second nature for a large portion of the rapidly ageing first world population.

However, until now there has been no concerted effort to bring about industry-wide standardisation across disciplines, departments and institutions. Major improvements in the delivery of healthcare can be made by taking a proactive approach to identifying underlying conditions in otherwise healthy patients.

According to Reuters, 14 of the top 23 hospitals in the US have rolled out a pilot programme using Apple’s HealthKit service. The service acts as a repository for all the data generated by patients, including information like blood pressure, weight or heart rate. The service will eventually allow doctors, patients and healthcare professionals to remotely access patient data and use trends to anticipate early signs of trouble.

And it’s not just long-term patient health that benefits. By identifying underlying health conditions earlier, significant cost savings can be made. This will also serve to alleviate the burden on hospitals to provide costly care for treatments that could have been prevented in the earlier stages.