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An American Medical Association (AMA) survey of 2,222 physicians across 6 countries found strong physician interest in using data collected from consumer wearables, such as smartwatches or over-the-counter biosensors. However, widespread use of the wearable data in clinical practice is limited, according to AMA. Among U.S. physicians, 86% report reviewing at least 1 type of wearable data, most commonly activity and function (67%), heart physiology (62%), events and alerts (55%), sleep (54%), and glucose or metabolic data (49%). Additionally, 77% of U.S. physicians believe wearable data provides at least some advantage in caring for patients. What’s interesting is that 82% of physicians overall in the international survey say they themselves use wearable technology for their own health.
What’s stopping you? Not surprisingly, the AMA report identifies reimbursement as the major obstacle to using wearable data from patients in the United States. Existing Current Procedural Terminology codes for remote patient monitoring apply only to Food and Drug Administration(FDA)-cleared devices used under clinician-directed care plans and do not reimburse for review of data from consumer-grade wearables, even when those devices include FDA-cleared features such as electrocardiogram capabilities. The report authors conclude expanding everyday clinical use of such data will require better evidence of benefits as well as workflows and new payment models that compensate clinicians for reviewing their patients’ wearable-device data.
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