Harnessing Wearable Data Without Information Overload

Medscape

5 hours ago

AMSTERDAM — Here at HLTH Europe 2025, experts discussed how wearable tracking devices are affecting healthcare.
From watches and rings to smart bras and nano-thin fabrics, the use of trackers has boomed in recent years. The market is projected to reach €120 billion by 2028.
These consumer devices are generating vast quantities of health data and creating opportunities for medical research and personalized medicine, particularly in women's health.
However, significant hurdles remain before these data can be integrated into clinical practice. Few devices have undergone rigorous clinical validation, and questions surround equitable access and the security of sensitive health data.
'Companies do their best to make the most out of them, but we still don't use them for the full benefit,' Michiel Winter, MD, a cardiologist at the Amsterdam University Medical Center specializing in digital health, told Medscape Medical News . There is also a risk for unnecessarily alarming users, resulting in people 'showing up at the doctor's office because a measure was flagged by their wearable device — while it's perfectly normal.'
Wearables Provide Insight
Wearables collect continuous physiological data in a person's real-world environment, which can help overcome major limitations of traditional clinical studies. This is particularly transformative for fields like sleep medicine, explained Ines Ramos Barreiras, EMEA Regional Medical Advisor at Bayer.
Ines Ramos Barreiras
'When we take people to the sleeping lab, they never get a natural sleep the way they get it at home,' she said. Wearable devices offer access to much larger datasets that can reveal long-term patterns, which is especially crucial for underdiagnosed conditions in women, such as sleep apnea.
Jennifer Kanady, PhD, director of Sleep Health Technology at Samsung Electronics America, noted, 'Sleep apnea is typically thought of as a man's disease. But it is also very prevalent in women, and the women's presentation often looks different.' She emphasized that consumer devices can capture cases missed by traditional pathways.
Jennifer Kanady, PhD
Translating wearable data into clinical practice remains a challenge. Current healthcare systems are ill-equipped to handle the sheer volume of data, often requiring manual filtering or advanced algorithms to become clinically useful.
'Most of these devices are made for consumers and not for patients, and these are two completely different species,' Winter said. The consensus is that without intelligent algorithms and triage systems to filter the noise, the data are overwhelming.
Risk for Data Overload
The flood of information from wearables can lead to 'data overload,' warned Elisabeth Roider, MD, PhD, partner and co-founder of InnoMed Advisors. 'People are getting tired of these hundreds and sometimes thousands of markers they're supposed to fulfill. And honestly, most of them do not matter really often.'
Elisabeth Roider, MD, PhD
This information deluge can generate significant health anxiety and trigger unnecessary clinical visits. 'We get a lot of patients who are worried with no reason,' Winter said, citing young, athletic people who visit a cardiologist because their device flagged a low heart rate during sleep. 'They get worried because they get an alarm. But if you are young and active, that is very normal, and you are taking the spot of somebody who really needs to see me.'
Furthermore, systemic barriers related to access and reimbursement persist. 'Most people who are driving the bulk of the cost, particularly in the US healthcare system, are not utilizing wearables,' said Alyssa Jaffee, a partner at 7wire Ventures.
Alyssa Jaffee
Vulnerable populations, including elderly patients, those with lower socioeconomic status, and non-native language speakers, often struggle to use these devices effectively, widening the gap in health equity. Without proper financial support and a clear reimbursement strategy, these powerful tools will 'remain for the happy few,' Winter concluded.