2.5 Wearable technology and remote monitoring
Whilst the use of technology is also covered previously in the innovation in prevention chapter, here we highlight a few areas of focus specifically on the delivery of healthcare services for healthy ageing.
Technology and digital health tools are fundamentally transforming the relationship between doctors and patients, moving from episodic, in-office consultations to continuous, data-driven health management. Wearable devices, for instance, collect a stream of biometric data—from heart rate variability to sleep patterns—that provides a far more complete picture of a person’s health than a snapshot from a single annual physical. For example, devices like smartwatches and continuous glucose monitors collect real-time data and enable individuals and their doctors to monitor key health metrics and intervene before problems arise. This wealth of data allows clinicians to monitor chronic conditions remotely, identify emerging health risks, and tailor advice with unprecedented precision. The shift from an “analogue to digital” approach is poised to make healthcare more proactive, personalized, and efficient (UK Parliament, 2025).
To fully enable this shift, several key changes are needed, starting with incentivizing doctors to engage with this new data. Currently, most healthcare systems are not set up to reward a doctor for reviewing a patient’s daily activity or sleep trends. Policy needs to introduce new reimbursement models that compensate physicians for remote patient monitoring and for using data from consumer wearables to prevent disease, not just treat it.
The private sector can also play a role by partnering with insurance companies to offer financial incentives for both doctors and patients. A critical component of this change is the development of a unified system for patient-held electronic health records. Instead of health data being siloed across various clinics and hospitals, a patient-held record would give individuals full control over their health information, allowing them to easily share it with any provider, creating a seamless and holistic view of their health journey. The Tony Blair Institute has called for a digital health record for everyone in the UK within five years to ensure that the NHS is ready for the artificial intelligence era (Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, 2024).
Another crucial step is the development of a new approach to reference ranges. Traditional lab reference ranges are based on a “disease” model, flagging a result only when it is outside the range of a “healthy” population, often missing subtle trends that could indicate the early onset of disease. To truly embrace a preventative model, we need to establish preventative reference ranges that are personalized to the individual. This move from a population-based to an individual-based model is essential for proactive health management and will require new tools and training for clinicians (Stanger, 2025).
Finally, consumer awareness and education are paramount. While many people own wearables, a significant portion do not fully understand how to interpret the data or its clinical relevance. This is a major gap that needs to be filled by both public and private initiatives. For example, the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change has proposed the provision of subsidized wearables for people with chronic disease, a model that could be expanded to include educational resources (UK Parliament, 2025). This would empower consumers to take an active role in their own health and provide them with the knowledge to engage in meaningful conversations with their doctors.
Ultimately, the successful integration of digital health tools requires a collaborative effort from policymakers, private industry, and consumers to create a system that is not only technologically advanced but also intuitive, accessible, and centred around a new model of preventative, personalized care.