US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. wants Americans to start adopting health-tracking devices. Kennedy told the House of Representatives this week that the health agency is planning “one of the biggest advertising campaigns” in its history to encourage Americans to use the wearables.
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“My vision is that every American is wearing a wearable within four years,” Kennedy said. He added that the wearable health technology is a key pillar to the “Making America Healthy Again” agenda.
Health wearables include devices like continuous glucose monitors (CGMs), smartwatches, smart rings, and fitness bands. CGMs monitor a person’s glucose levels throughout the day, detecting spikes and providing recommendations on what foods to eat and avoid. Trackers like smartwatches, smart rings, and fitness bands typically monitor a person’s vitals, including their heart rate, wrist or finger temperature, heart rate variability, sleep, and more.
These devices gather and collect a user’s health data and include features that could notify users of injury or undiagnosed conditions.
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While the goal of these devices is to track, spot, and potentially prevent illness or strain, it’s unclear whether Kennedy and Trump’s surgeon general nominee Casey Means (who co-founded the CGM brand Levels) have an ulterior motive in selling wearables like glucose trackers.
Glucose management tools like CGMs, which cost around $50 to $90 for a month’s worth of OTC trackers, are one way to monitor or improve diet at a more affordable cost than some of the buzzier prescription options, like Ozempic. “You know [Ozempic] is costing $1,300 a month; if you can achieve the same thing with an $80 wearable, it’s a lot better for the American people,” Kennedy said.
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If the campaign for widespread adoption of wearables succeeds, the impacts could be fundamental to this new era of tech-infused healthcare. Here’s how this adoption could impact you.
The ultra-prevalence of wearables
If Kennedy gets his way, health wearables like the Apple Watch, Oura Ring, Whoop, and CGMs will become the main way Americans monitor their health on a day-to-day basis.
Many people are already using this technology to do so, and through my reporting on these devices, I’ve encountered several stories of users taking their health data to a doctor’s office for an official diagnosis of conditions.
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There will be further integration and collaboration between technology brands and health brands. We see this already with certain partnerships, like Oura’s collaboration with Essence Healthcare, where every Essence patient receives a free Oura Ring to track their health data and take that data to their doctor for medical assessment. Earlier this year, wellness brand Withings unveiled Cardio Check-Up, a feature available for Withings+ members that sends heart rate data collected through a Withings device to a board-certified cardiologist for evaluation and feedback. Just recently, Ultrahuman launched Blood Vision, an $800 annual membership that partners with Quest Diagnostics, a medical lab company, to take vials of your blood to predict markers of illness or disease.
What we’re seeing through this administration’s health goals is the privatization of the public health sector. Additionally, if most Americans are wearing and using health trackers, it will fundamentally change how they approach the doctor’s office – and how doctors will use their health data for predictive or preventative purposes.
Subsidized wearables?
If Kennedy’s Department of Health is encouraging the widespread adoption of health wearables, I have to imagine that the government would look to make them more affordable, or perhaps subsidize these devices, to encourage widespread use. An Apple Watch costs around $300. An Oura Ring costs around $350. One month’s worth of glucose monitors will run you about $50 to $90.
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According to a 2023 study by the National Institute of Health’s National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, college-educated adults ages 18 through 49 with higher household incomes were more likely to report using a health wearable. Studies show that those with higher incomes generally have better health outcomes. So what about low-income, non-college-educated Americans who may not be able to afford such devices? All these devices are already available to purchase through FSA or HSA funds, but could the cost of these devices be lower through additional subsidies? We’ll have to see.
Privacy concerns
Data is an extremely valuable resource, and health data is gold. Data breaches and leaks already jeopardize the security of this data in doctors’ offices and healthcare facilities, and the risk could increase if every American is giving their data to a tech wearable. While these health tech brands follow HIPAA regulations, many of them are considered wellness brands (not medical brands), so their data practices and standards are different.
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Alex Hamerstone, advisory solutions director for an ethical hacking company, told the HuffPost that infringed health data could impact a person’s insurance rates and options. Another expert interviewed for the story suggested that the wearables bring about “significant security issues.”
If put in the wrong hands, this data could be sold to advertisers or insurance companies inclined to raise rates for their least healthy customers. Collecting such vital data could also lead to the administration further surveilling and monitoring Americans.
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Source: Robotics - zdnet.com
