Wearable Devices vs. Mobile Health Apps: Which Delivers Greater Value in Healthcare?

Healthcare professionals have been using apps to manage patients for many years. A new trend is now emerging in healthcare: managing patient health through wearable devices and related applications. It is reported that 15% of Americans own a wearable health tracker, such as Fitbit or Apple Watch. Moreover, numerous wearable-related apps are launched every day.

So, the old question remains: Can wearable devices or apps truly play a role in improving healthcare standards? Which approach is more reliable? After analyzing the latest data and comparing the efficiency of both approaches, foreign institutions have found that, at present, app-based patient health management is more mature than the application of wearable devices.



The use of well-known mobile apps is widespread in hospitals, and the reasons are obvious:
First, it can improve the efficiency of patient appointment scheduling.
A well-known, feature-rich app provides patients with a convenient appointment-scheduling tool that connects them to healthcare professionals, while also offering providers an advertising platform to showcase their hospital’s brand and content directly on patients’ mobile devices.
Second, Integration of Multi-Functional Applications
With the adoption of hospital information technology apps, clients have integrated various features into their respective app brands or developed apps with different functionalities, such as:

Hospital Route Navigation Module;
ER/Emergency Department Queue Wait Time Module;
Pregnancy and Childbirth App
Medication and Symptom Tracking App;
Health and Nutrition Apps, etc.

Wearable Devices in the Healthcare Industry: The Time Is Not Yet Ripe
Wearable devices and related technologies have advanced rapidly, yet they have not achieved widespread adoption among the general public. Wearable devices remain tightly integrated with smartphone applications. Due to a lack of clinical data, wearables are still regarded as a consumer trend rather than essential clinical equipment.

The key to a successful mobile strategy lies in creating exceptional value for users, fostering user trust, and providing useful data to improve services.

Translation: Liu Jianqiu

Editor: Zhang Nan