This browser does not support the Video element.
RFK Jr. plans to push wearable health tech
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced earlier this summer. His department is getting ready to launch one of the biggest advertising campaigns in its history.
CHICAGO - Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced earlier this summer his department is getting ready to launch one of the biggest advertising campaigns in its history to encourage Americans to use a wearable health device.
"We think that wearables are a key to the MAHA agenda, Making America Healthy Again, and we are gonna, my vision is that every American is wearing a wearable within four years," Kennedy Jr. said.
In a Fox 32 special report, Sylvia Perez finds out if wearing a wearable is for everyone.
What we know:
Soroush Shah is a graduate student at Northwestern University. He already wears a wearable.
"I use my smartwatch on a daily basis," Shah said. "The health and physical activity tracking features on the watch are helping a lot with tracking the calories I burn out during the day and the week and helps me track the performance."
He says he started wearing one about five years ago and not because he had any serious health concerns, but because he wanted to make sure he was leading an active lifestyle.
"Sometimes it feels uncomfortable if you're wearing it 24-7, so sometimes I have to take it off. But other than that, it's not a big issue because the four factors is the watch. And I got used to it," Shah said.
Soroush is a PhD candidate at Northwestern. He works in what's called the university's Habits Lab - where he is part of a team of researching and designing new wearable health tech devices.
Christopher Romano is the lab's research study coordinator.
"We look for ways wearable sensors can fill in gaps in the health information we have about people," Roman said. "So sometimes that can mean building a new wearable for a specific purpose to fill a need that isn't met yet."
Roman is helping Soroush develop his device.
"He works a lot on our smoking research projects using wearable thermal cameras to measure cigarette smoking episodes," Romano said.
"Look at individual puffs, their intensity, their speed when they happen, things like that. And over time, it lets you suss out the details of what is driving a person's smoking behavior, because that's eventually what would cause them to relapse if they made a quit attempt," he added.
Another student is working on a wearable device that measures ultraviolet (UV) rays to help those who are concerned about skin cancer.
"It's a wrist-worn device. It's similar to a smartwatch. So, a risk-based light meter that specifically looks for ultraviolet light in the risky range of ultraviolets that contributes to melanoma formation," Romano said.
While you can check the UV Index in your area, Romano says there isn’t a way to know if you put on sunscreen, if your risk goes down, by how much, for how long and will that last, if you wear different clothing.
"So we've been working on a system to adjust for those things, where people can quickly establish what they're wearing, clothing and sunscreen-wise," Romano said.
The other side:
Even as close to the issue as he is, Soroush has some concerns about every American wearing a wearable health device in the next four years.
A goal the U.S. Health and Human Services Department announced earlier this summer.
"But there are some privacy concerns that comes with it, you know, health information or sensitive. And I know that's an active area of research. People are working on it. But that may be one hesitation that I have about variables. All of this data that's been actively collected, where does that go," Shah wondered.
A 2019 article from the Journal of the American Medical Association found insurance companies could use the health data collected by wearable devices to increase insurance costs for some consumers.
Many of these devices can track a person's weight, how much they eat and their blood pressure.
Dr. Nabil Alshurafa is the director of Northwestern's Habits Lab.
"Well, I do applaud his ambition," Alshurafa said. "When we're thinking about healthcare, especially in the United States, we have a very sort of reactive approach to healthcare, and a lot of people now call it sick care."
While he agrees wearables can be very effective when managing chronic disease, he says they can’t do it alone.
"There isn't sort of this magic bullet wearable that everyone can wear that's gonna solve everyone's problem," Alshurafa said.
"The tools don't change habits, the people do. And so, we're gonna need to be thinking a little bit more carefully about. What the problem is that the person has and recommend the wearable, right? Because they can just as easily take them off," Alshurafa added.
In his research, Alshurafa has noticed people have lost interest or will stop wearing a smartwatch after six months.
He's even seen a significant drop as soon as a month into one of his studies.
"So again, until the user really sees a clear benefit to their health, then they're unlikely to wear it, right. And so, forcing them is just not going to be the right solution," Alshurafa said.
Ashley Tate is a medical student at Rush University. She thinks some people will be more on board than others when it comes to wearing a wearable.
"I mean, obviously, more tech-savvy generations, I think it'll appeal to more," Tate said. "I feel like there are some downsides with like, where's the data going? How long do I have to be wearing this? Do I have wear it to bed?"
Dr. Sean Swearingen is the Director of Sports and Exercise Cardiology at Rush University Medical Center. While he says a wearable health device can be a motivational tool to help people exercise, he doesn’t think it’s necessary for everyone to have one.
"Do I think necessarily having all of that data is going to improve your exercise performance? I wouldn't say that that is necessarily going to change," Swearingen said.
"But I think patients need to be aware of that there's not always an exact specific recommendation that's going to be given for all the information that gets obtained on these devices," he added.
For example, Swearingen says if you are concerned about some of the sleep data your device has recorded, you may need to ask a sleep specialist about that. Even though your cardiologist is the doctor who wants you to wear the wearable.
More information could mean more doctor appointments and unnecessary worry.
"And so I think with some of those types of data, it can cause an element of over-concern. For something that is just a piece of data and doesn't necessarily have a tremendous effect in how their long-term health is gonna look," Swearingen said.
By the numbers:
Cost is another big concern when it comes to wearable health tech. We found items ranging from $50 to $350 and only some insurance programs cover the cost of them.
We also found one Chicago hospital that offers two different programs where patients can obtain wearable tech, and it’s covered by insurance.
What we don't know:
The U.S. Health and Human Services Department has yet to unveil its campaign to encourage Americans to wear wearable health tech.
What you can do:
Rush University Medical Center offers patients two programs that use wearable devices to monitor blood pressure and other vital body signs remotely. One program accepts both Medicare and Medicaid. For the other program, all patients at Rush can participate as long as they have a smartphone and their primary doctor is at Rush University Medical Center.
They are also in the process of starting new programs that would help patients track type 2 Diabetes and set and track their health goals.
For more information, call Rush University Medical Center (888) 352-7874.
The Source: For this story, the Fox 32 Chicago Special Projects unit interviewed a cardiologist at Rush University Medical Center, researchers at digital health technology lab at Northwestern University and consumers.