Dive Brief:
- Royal Philips has launched a suite of medical-grade wearable technologies -- a health watch, a blood pressure monitor, a body analysis scale, and an ear thermometer -- designed for people who are at risk of developing chronic conditions related to their lifestyle.
- The health technology company consulted with doctors and psychologists during development as it aimed to encourage users to measure vital signs with its HealthSuite health app.
- Roughly half of all U.S. adults -- 117 million individuals -- had at least one chronic condition as of 2012, according to the CDC.
Dive Insight:
The push with the devices is to enact behavioral change for individuals. But change is hard. As Ars Technica reported, a 2014 study from Endeavour Partners found about a third of "smart wearables" owners abandon the devices after six months.
A recent and highly publicized study in the journal Obesity found that six years after participating in Season 8 of "The Biggest Loser," a mean amount of about 90 pounds of the lost weight was regained.
Many healthcare and wellness app executives told Healthcare Dive the study's results highlight the discussion around needed behavioral changes so individuals can maintain weight loss.
Philips with its new line of devices looks to be entering the wearable market with a focus on sustainable, incremental behavioral change to assist individuals achieve goals and help prevent chronic conditions.
Although developing a habit can be difficult to say the least, Philips hopes to make it a bit easier by enabling users to track their own progress toward goals they set for themselves. The data can be viewed on a dashboard within the app.
“Our personal health programs are different because they’re built to motivate the user, showing that small steps can lead to big results,” Dr. Mark Aloia, a behavior change expert at Philips, said in a statement.
All of the devices are listed with the FDA.