Wearable fitness trackers have created an unprecedented opportunity for the healthcare community to collect valuable data that could greatly impact patient care and health insurance premiums. Still, adoption rates for such devices remain low in the U.S. adult population.
While the use of health and fitness tracking devices has more than doubled in the last two years, a new nationwide survey conducted by TechnologyAdvice shows that only 25.1 percent of adults are currently using either a fitness tracker or a smartphone app to monitor their health, weight, or exercise.
The following infographic illustrates some of the study’s key takeaways:
Infographic Background
The survey was conducted through a random sample of more than 900 U.S. adults who were asked about their general fitness tracking habits, including 419 who were surveyed on their specific reasons for not using tracking devices or apps.
This data, which reflects the acceptance of similar self-monitoring incentives now being offered by auto insurance providers, suggests that health insurance providers are in a better position to encourage the adoption of health fitness tracking than healthcare providers. However, both would benefit greatly from increased use of fitness tracking devices. Physicians would gain access to accurate, patient-generated data that could improve preventative care strategies, monitor patient outcomes, and analyze overall trends in patient populations. Meanwhile, it would allow health insurance providers to create more accurate risk profiles on individuals while gathering valuable data on risk factors and potential expenditures.
More information on this survey’s results and methodology can be found here.
