Study Shows Difficulty of Demonstrating Value of Digital Health Tech

A recent study of cardiac patients using a digital health solution found no long term impact on physical activity, demonstrating the difficulty of establishing the value of digital health technology.

In the study, half of the 200-plus patients received encouraging text messages on smart watches, while the other half just used the smart watch to track their activity. Ninety percent of the patients wore their FitBit or Apple watches for 75 percent or more of the six-month study.

“Everyone improved, but the question was, did the text messages add to this benefit,” said cardiologist Brahmajee Nallamothu, professor of internal medicine, University of Michigan, of the study published Sept. 14 in Nature Digital Medicine. The study result shows that “mHealth intervention did not improve six-month outcomes.”

Read the study here.

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