From Data to Action: Wearables as Tools for Proactive Health
When we talk about wearable health tech, most people still think of step counters, calorie trackers, or sleep monitors. But the conversation is shifting. A new generation of wearables is pushing us to reconsider what’s possible—when data becomes actionable, personalized, and empowering.
Beyond Basic Metrics
We’re now entering a new phase. Early wearables gave us basic outputs—steps walked, hours slept, maybe heart rate. Today’s devices offer deeper insights, and more importantly, they’re beginning to translate complexity into clarity.
Take “pulse wave velocity”, a term most people wouldn’t recognize. New platforms now convert this into something more relatable: cardiovascular age. It tells someone whether their heart is aging faster or slower than their peers. That’s a powerful behavioral nudge. One speaker shared how a user, after seeing a “+8” cardiovascular age, began exercising daily. The right data, delivered the right way, can move people to act.
The Engagement Advantage
High engagement is a gateway to personalized, preventive care. Some health wearables are worn nearly 24 hours a day, with users checking the app multiple times daily. This sustained engagement creates an opportunity for deeper insights and continuous behavior change. ve used wearable data myself in the past while training for long-distance runs. The insights go well beyond miles and pace they help guide recovery, rest, and readiness. It’s a reminder that with the right feedback, even everyday metrics can support better decisions. Partnerships between these platforms and health plans show how consistent use can drive improved outcomes. When integrated with virtual care models, especially in areas like women’s and family health, there’s a clear network effect: patients are not only willing—they're eager—to share useful, secure, and trusted data when it supports their health goals.
Building Better Bridges
As the volume of wearable data grows, so does the challenge of making it usable. For clinicians, interpreting this data is often clunky or not even feasible within current EHR systems. Many patients still resort to screenshots or emails to share metrics with their providers.
We can build better bridges. Some companies are beginning to experiment with generative AI to create structured summaries for clinical visits. Others are embedding in-app interpretation tools that offer real recommendations—not just trends. The key is designing systems that fit naturally into care—not add more complexity.
Trust as Foundation
Trust is foundational. Wearables must do more than collect data—they must empower users to own it, share it, and benefit from it. That means privacy by default, transparency in data use, and a clear stance: data will not be sold or shared without permission.
As health plans consider wearable coverage, the question becomes: Are we building tools that people trust enough to keep wearing—and sharing?
Designing for Prevention
Prevention requires usable data and reimbursement models that support it. Wearables can play a key role in upstream health improvement by tracking metrics like sleep, physical activity, weight, and mood.
Value-based models can help. When both sides take on risk, adoption increases. FDA approval for managing chronic conditions may open doors, alongside FSA/HSA eligibility and ICRA-based models.
Ultimately, coverage will follow proof of impact: improved outcomes, avoided hospitalizations, and engaged members. That’s why pilots, sandboxes, and creative partnerships matter now more than ever.
Toward Proactive System Design
We need to build systems that:
Simplify complex data into intuitive feedback
Enable seamless interoperability across platforms and clinics
Embed behavioral nudges to drive change
Align regulation with preventive value
Center personalization and patient autonomy
Wearables can serve as bridges between everyday life and clinical care. Done right, they unlock the potential for more proactive, personal, and preventive health.
The opportunity ahead? Translating data into impact—and giving people the information and power to act.
Between now and next,
Mamata
This post was inspired by conversations at the AHIP session Harnessing Sensor Intelligence and Remote Data for Predictive, Preventive Care, highlighting how wearables are evolving from passive trackers to proactive health tools.
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Photo: Tracking miles used to be routine. Now it’s a reminder of where I have been and part of a motivation to begin again.
