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Imagine being in your 30s, and being told during a routine checkup (one that you’ve grudgingly accepted as a fact of life, now that the wilder 20s are behind you) that you have slightly elevated levels of cholesterol, or blood pressure or even blood glucose. 

The initial – and understandable – reaction is often nonchalance. Chronic conditions are common place now. 

And after all, it’s not critical. Maybe it’s just something you ate. God knows you’re not getting enough sleep.

But still, you feel fine. 

And anyway, aren’t these ‘old people issues’?

Well, you’re right – human health is subjective. What is considered ‘normal’ varies from one person to another. A cup of coffee could elevate your blood pressure, or even the very idea of getting your blood tested could get your heart racing. 

While these are short term occurrences, a wide range of factors from your daily activity levels to family history can impact your vitals and even lead to chronic conditions. But that’s no reason to rule issues out altogether.

Medical complexity shouldn’t faze you – in fact, it’s an opportunity to understand your body better. And at some point, everyone with chronic diseases today felt that they were fine.

The Simplest Case For Measuring Your Vitals

The average of multiple readings throughout a day is the most accurate number of your body’s daily functioning. Glucometers and blood pressure monitors were once inaccessible medical equipment, but with the advent of technology, they’ve become commercially available and easy to use.

As digital health becomes the norm, consistent monitoring can be utilized to better understand factors that affect a patient’s health.

Telehealth (or telemedicine) is the flavor of the season, thanks to the massive push that the ongoing COVID-19 crisis has given health-tech companies, and this is an added advantage.

Remote or in-person doctor consultations, when paired with consistent vital tracking can help patients take charge of their health. Patients can use the acquired data to better understand the factors that affect their vitals and address them.

The use of at home health monitors can improve the patient compliance for suggested treatments, as doctors now have the power to observe the effectiveness of their recommendations in real-time. 

Digital health solutions also utilize data analytics to help doctors deliver preventive care, especially in cases of chronic diseases. 

There’s a strong variability at the heart of measuring vitals – so this necessitates a greater use of health monitors. When properly paired with digital health solutions, the acquired data can be utilized to provide long term insights. Ranging from ideal activity levels to medication adherence, routine health tracking can really simplify chronic disease management.

Making Healthcare Preventive, Not Reactive

We all have friends who track every bite and every step that they take. 

And even if you don’t take it that far, tracking your health consistently has proven positive effects that you should take into account.

Sure, checking your blood pressure every day might sound excessive. But the objective behind continuous monitoring is to make healthcare preventive and intelligent, not reactive.

Although routine self tracking is now on the rise, it is often event-triggered and not by a desire to take charge of one’s health. To improve your health, the data acquired through tracking has to be put to good use. Intelligent self-tracking, when paired with better physician-patient interactions, empowers people to become more treatment compliant.

Such compliance delivers long term benefits.

The Behavioral Impact of Digital Health Solutions

Digital health solutions like apps increase routine tracking behaviour through reminders or gamification features that engage and motivate users to stay consistent. Improved access to health data through these apps directly impacts disease-specific awareness in patients. 

A little knowledge is a dangerous thing, and this is exactly what Google facilitates.

If you’ve ever Googled your symptoms – you’re not alone, but this trend is a dangerous precedent. Telemedicine, when paired with monitoring, can effectively replace this.

If you are motivated enough to ask the right questions, doctors can give you answers that can drastically improve your health, facilitating better outcomes over the long run. 

If you’re especially worried about developing chronic diseases, or have a family history of them, it is necessary to keep up with your routine care, no matter the situation. 

Not only does data-enabled telemedicine keep you continuously in touch with your doctors, it saves the time otherwise spent on paperwork, crowded waiting rooms or changing appointments. 

A better understanding of patient history and data analytics from self-monitoring can help the doctors to provide better care as well.

How Consistent Tracking Personalizes Health Outcomes

In the last few years, there has been a seismic shift in the healthcare industry, which has been accelerated by the current pandemic. One primary feature in this advancement has been in health monitoring, especially in understanding each patient’s unique biology.

Routine self-tracking, when paired with data analytics factors including lifestyle, ethnicity and genetic history, can yield personalized results – because this allows doctors to monitor every patient’s baseline and understand deltas better, especially when things are going wrong. 

Doctors can use this data to create plans that are tailored to individual needs and biology. These insights can also help predict chronic disease related risk factors and provide timely intervention when needed.

Advanced analytics also take into account multiple conditions that a patient may have and can assist doctors in providing treatments that are laser focused. Being self-aware and motivated can go a long way in preventing diseases that could otherwise prove to be fatal.

Predictive analysis is the need of the hour, especially in a time when our healthcare resources are stretched, and good health is turning into a social responsibility more than personal choice.

And constant monitoring is the best way to achieve this.

 

Phable syncs with world-class health devices to provide preventive care to patients with chronic conditions. It allows patients to centrally consult with doctors, share their treatment adherence and get interventions when required.

Download Phable Here!