Smartwatches Make Healthcare Smarter

From tracking heart rate to steps taken to sleep quality, smartwatches and fitness trackers can generate biometric data about the people using them.

- Akshita Nanda

In 2025, doctors and health coaches in Singapore will be counting on these numbers to improve people's health.

Less than a decade ago, fitness wearables were a status symbol sported only by serious amateur athletes. Now, watches, rings and bracelets are more affordable and sensitive than ever, opening up new strategies in healthcare, say doctors.

Wearables can map your heart rhythm on electrocardiograms, check your blood oxygen level and synchronize with external medical sensors to monitor your blood glucose level.

This data is measured regularly, if not continuously, and can go straight to your doctor, who can respond with suggestions for better health.

Such two-way communication is at the heart of several upcoming or ongoing initiatives in Singapore that aim to make people healthier through their smartwatches and fitness trackers.

Dr Alexander Yip of Alexandra Hospital says that while family doctors and general practitioners can advise patients to make better lifestyle choices, the patient may need more engagement to help change his or her behaviour for the better.

"A GP can say, 'Eat well, sleep well, exercise, lose weight and I'll see you in six months', but is that enough for the patient? Usually, no," says Dr Yip, who is principal investigator for an ongoing research initiative led by the hospital and supported by National University Polyclinics.

The Activation research initiative plans to get 1,700 people aged 21 to 75 to wear a smartwatch for up to a year.

About a third of this group will also get access to a health monitoring app, while another third will get the smartwatch, the app and work with a human health coach.

Based on the data logged by the smartwatch, the app could send personalized nudges to get participants walking more, for example. The human health coach will also monitor smartwatch data and check in at least once a month with participants.