Wearable technology, data collection, and reporting devices worn by patients on the go is the next frontier in clinical research and treatment. A host of new devices and communications technologies are poised to transform the ways researchers, clinicians, and patients collect and use data to improve patient care and outcomes.

“There has been an explosion in our ability to collect data in real-world situations and use it to help patients improve their health,” says Ted Reiss, MD, MBE, head of clinical research and development for the Inflammation and Immunology Division of Celgene Corp. “These technologies come in all different shapes and sizes, from reminders on your cell phone to tracking activity and recording clinical input that help monitor asthma, COPD, or other chronic respiratory diseases.”

Dr. Reiss also is the chair of the ATS Drug, Device, Discovery, and Development Committee, which is sponsoring two sessions on wearable technology. The first, “The Promise and Reality of Wearable Health Technology,” will explore the types of devices and technologies that are moving into more common use. The current generation of wearable technology is finding applications in smoking cessation, sleep medicine, pulmonary rehab, COPD, and other pulmonary diseases. Look for further developments in the use of wearable technologies to reach vulnerable populations and promote pulmonary health equity.

Other wearable technologies are being developed for diabetes, arthritis, cardiovascular disease, and a variety of chronic conditions, Dr. Reiss notes.

A second session, “The Importance of Technology Implementation in Respiratory Care and Public Health,” will examine the practical side of implementing new technology in patient care. Speakers will present practical insights on how to optimize the integration of respiratory care innovations, human factors in technology adoption, the impact of human and organizational behavior on implementation, and the utility of real-world data in COPD.

Ted Reiss, MD, MBE

“The key to successful implementation is patient centricity,” Dr. Reiss says. “Implementation is really the last step in research translation—taking the innovation and making it effective in the real world. We not only have to envision and develop new technology, we have to follow through and implement it to the benefit of patients and to the health care system.”

One of the most important considerations in developing wearable technology is to engage patients. It is not enough to collect data or send reminders that are clinically useful; it must also be data and reminders that patients see as helpful.

“Think about technology from the patient’s point of view,” Dr. Reiss says. “What reminders at the patient level or feedback from health care providers help patients monitor their therapy more fully and take more responsibility and advantage of those therapies? People are starting to use them, but they need to be improved and used more broadly in the health care system.”

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