The Chronic Illness Tech Boom

In a blog post published previously, we discussed the incredible potential wearables present for better health management and monitoring. This time we’re going to dig a little bit deeper into the subject of health tech and its potential for the future chronic illness.

At least half of Americans have at least one chronic illness and a quarter have two or more chronic illnesses. For those new to this term, a chronic illness is an illness that cannot be cured in a short period of time and requires long-term management. Many chronic illnesses are incurable but treatable and manageable. Diabetes, heart disease, kidney disease — these are all chronic illnesses.

But, currently, the way we often think about health monitoring is from the perspective of preventing or treating acute illnesses. An acute illness is any short-term illness, like bronchitis, with a rapid onset and a short course, meaning it can be either treated with medicine or fought off by the body within weeks.

Chronic illness is increasing

Most of what we learn about our health is currently assessed with periodic appointments to check heart rate, blood pressure, cholesterol levels, lung health, etc. But if we could constantly monitor all these variables that give us information about our health, we could generate more meaningful insights into each patient’s condition and more effectively find treatments to help them alleviate symptoms or improve overall health.

Currently, 86% of U.S. health care spending goes to managing chronic illnesses. That number was 75% of U.S. health care spending in 2009 and experts predict those chronic illness rates will continue to rise as baby boomers age.

So as we look ahead to the future of health care and health information, what part should technology play?

Chronic illness creates complex data

When you have an acute illness, the story of your illness is fairly simple:

1. You experience symptoms
2. Often, you make an appointment with a health care provider
3. They diagnose you at the appointment and begin your treatment
4. You may need to come in again for a follow-up or ongoing treatments
5. But soon you’re all better

But with chronic illness, the information is often much more complex — People with chronic illnesses often get better and worse and then better again. In addition, ongoing monitoring and data collection is much more important than with acute illness since chronic illness treatment is often about carefully making adjustments to reduce symptoms.

Effective chronic illness management is often about deeply understanding the disease and how the patient responds to various factors. For a diabetic, that means tracking blood sugar levels as closely as possible. Until very recently, the best way to do this was by pricking your finger several times a day and reading your blood sugar levels with a glucose monitor. But in late 2017, the FDA approved a glucose monitor that constantly measures blood sugar levels just below the skin and the U.K.’s Prime Minister, Theresa May, has been seen with a patch on numerous occasions.

This kind of health monitoring tech has the potential to be the greatest tool for better health management as we move into an era of health care that must be more focused on chronic conditions.

Health tech beyond medicine

But this kind of technology won’t just change the way doctors treat chronic illnesses, industries like insurance, public health, and many others will be flooded with information. Patients can currently only relay periodic information — Many tests must be administered in a clinic or testing facility, and even tests that can be performed at home, like the glucose tests, are often painful, annoying, and messy.

They’re also an incomplete picture of patient health. By monitoring these variables constantly and in real life situations, health care providers and everyone who depends on clear, accurate health care information will benefit.

Using technology to constantly monitor our health will also make it easier to share information and harder to commit fraud. Customers will receive better health management and a deeper understanding of their bodies and their health, while health care providers will be able to better serve their patients, and third parties that need health information (like life insurance) will be able to more accurately process applications and offer policies.

The question isn’t whether wearables and other cutting-edge health tech will disrupt the way we track and treat chronic conditions, but rather when. And, given how much this evolution has to offer, it can’t come too soon.

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