Hitesh Shah from West Bengal was happy when he was discharged from hospital. The 73-year-old who underwent a bypass surgery was looking forward to seeing his grandchildren. He missed them badly while being hospitalised.
Shah’s only worry now was postoperative care. He lived in a small village and access to healthcare was a big concern for him.
Wearable technology can be a boon for patients like Shah. "The future of healthcare is remote monitoring and healthcare delivered at home," says Dr H. Sudarshan Ballal, chairman of Manipal Hospitals, Bengaluru. "’Technology enables us to monitor heart rate, heart rhythm, oxygen saturation, BP, temperature and blood sugars at home. It will even record your daily exercise and the calories burnt. All this can be done by as simple a device a wrist watch which can not only monitor your vital signs but also transmit it to the healthcare care giver on a real-time basis and even warn patients of impending medical emergency,’’ explains Ballal.
Wearable technology is poised to revolutionise healthcare. We will soon witness a paradigm shift in how healthcare is delivered and monitored. ‘’ It means hospitals will be reserved only for the very ill, acute emergencies, ICU care and surgical procedures,’’ says Ballal.
Manipal Hospitals has made a giant stride in this direction, by partnering with ConnectedLife to use Fitbit’s wearable technology. This enables clinical teams at Manipal Hospitals to monitor post operative outcomes of their patients, including sleep quality and pain score, even after they are discharged and tailor their intervention based on the patients needs. s
Wearable technology brings benefits to postoperative patients like those who have undergone total knee replacement, angioplasty, cardiac bypass surgery, and other high-risk surgeries. It can remind patients to take medications and participate in physiotherapy, monitor physiological parametres and even alert patients and clinicians when there are significant variations in parametres.
Wearable technologies can be innovative solutions for post operative care, says Vishal Gondal, founder and CEO of Goquii. "GOQii Smart Vital smartwatch, a revolutionary device has an integratedPulse Oximeter to measure the level of oxygen in blood with real time updates of variations. The smartwatch also measures blood pressure, pulse and 24x7 body temperature to assist your post operative care as well as detect early diseases. Due to its unique features such as detecting sleep, steps calories and heart rate, it gives users a glimpse into various parameters that reflect the health and fitness of individuals," says Gondal.
The use of wearables can enable healthcare consumers to analyse their biomarkers, receive digital coaching services and benefit on their insurance plans, he adds. "It also allows the medical community to use biomarker analysis in remote prognosis and treatment, leading to paradigm shifts in the healthcare industry from a ‘sick-care’ model to a preventive or wellness-based model."
