Apple Watch

There are risks with any kind of increased information or data presented to people without the kind of background to understand it. That’s why we have professionals.

There’s also a concern about privacy and data getting into the wrong hands. That’s why we have safeguards.

But, on the other hand, when it comes to smart watches and other health monitoring devices, we’re talking about trying to better understand our own bodies. I’ve got a Garmin smart watch which I use in conjunction with the Garmin app and also with Strava. You’ll pry it from my cold, dead hands

There was one time when I went to the hospital and the consultant was interested in what my watch had been telling me. But, as this article shows, that’s rare.

What we need is some kind of standard way of reporting this data, along with caveats about how it was collected and how much it can be trusted.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting has talked about a proposal to give wearables to millions of NHS patients in England, enabling them to track symptoms such as reactions to cancer treatments, from home.

But many doctors – and tech experts – remain cautious about using health data captured by wearables.

I’m currently trying out a smart ring from the firm Ultrahuman – and it seemed to know that I was getting sick before I did.

It alerted me one weekend that my temperature was slightly elevated, and my sleep had been restless. It warned me that this could be a sign I was coming down with something.

I tutted something about the symptoms of perimenopause and ignored it - but two days later I was laid up in bed with gastric flu.

Source: BBC News