Wearable technology is set to transform the healthcare industry, according to experts.
Digital health tools will play a larger role in healthcare in 2016, according to Healthcare IT News, and wearable devices that track individual health such as Fitbit will be one of these tools with the most significant impact on the industry.
One in five Americans currently owns a wearable tech device, Digital Trends reported, and that number is only expected to skyrocket. By 2020, the wearables market is expected to grow by 411 million units.
These devices are already showing a sizeable impact on user health. Employees who wear a Fitbit or other type of wearable tech every day have a 44 percent drop in sick days, according to new findings from the Northwestern University School of Professional Studies, Digital Trends reported.
Wearable tech is also generating big savings for the industry. The researchers found that individuals who use the devices have saved 18 percent on healthcare. They also discovered that if employees continue wearing the devices every day for the next 25 years, hospital costs could be slashed by $200 billion.
Wearables will also improve the ways in which health professionals collect biometric data and monitor patient health, noted Healthcare IT News.