Technical Viability of Applying Wearable Telematics to Health Insurance?

(2 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

Loading...

Barring the use of big words as in the topic above, what is actually the possibility of introducing wearable telematics to healthcare? While this seems like a very fascinating prospect, there are a lot of technicalities that must be considered. There has been a lot of talk about including smart technology to healthcare since its discovery, but what is the possibility of introducing this technology to the healthcare industry, and can insurance companies actually benefit from the dearth of potential that innovators seek to speak about.

Every now and then we hear about a new piece of technology that will transform our lives as humans, but after some time, it eventually fades away because the pains of application eventually suffocate the idea so much so that it never comes to light. A lot of this technology is actually still in the production/beta stage, but can it actually be applied the way we hope it can?

Startup companies like Boundlss and Oscar, are putting a lot of research and innovation into making this a reality. However, putting aside the enthusiasm that comes with hearing about new technology, can companies like these startups actually achieve what they hope to? In this article, we will be considering the technical viability of applying wearable telematics to the health insurance industry.

Accessing the Technical Viability of Introducing Wearable Telematics to the Health Insurance Industry

There are a lot of benefits that both health insurance companies and individuals stand to gain from the application of this technology. For health insurance companies, there is the prospect that they may experience reduced costs and payouts by tracking the health and lifestyle of their customers. Lets face it, some people lead far healthier lifestyles than others, so for health insurance companies, it must be a pain having to still answer to all sorts of claims from these clients. In the case of the individual, wearable telematics actually help such a person to track the lifestyle he or she is living. By monitoring the lifestyle, kilometers walked daily and other aspects of an individual’s life, a person can know where he or she can make adjustments.

The world of technology today is taken over by the need and collection of data. Infact, it is the companies that are able to collate the most amount of information that can make successful information. By tracking useful information on an individual’s lifestyle, it is very possible for healthcare and insurance companies to make positive strides.

It is no longer news that wearable devices are able to track useful information concerning an individual’s health, but there are a lot of healthcare facilities that are not yet able or have the required equipment to process this data. This means that apart from these devices tracking the information of a person, there is also the need to develop devices that are able to process such information and make useful deductions. There are a lot of recordings that can be provided by these devices, but then what is done with the information. This is a major technical constraint when it comes to introducing these devices. For individuals, if such devices are applied successfully, there is also the possibility of detecting early stages of a number of health conditions.

Another constraint when considering the successful introduction of these devices lies in the fact that even though there is considerable increase in the amount of healthcare technology, a lot of insurance companies and healthcare institutions still have the same budget. This means that successfully introducing these devices comes at some added cost to these companies, and their ability to cater to these costs may be a large stumbling block.

This means that insurance companies have to reconsider what forms of technology they feel would be worth their time. This leads to the technical constraint of calculating the ROI for introducing this technology.

What Then Is The Future?

For insurance and related healthcare companies, there is the possibility of providing wearable tech to their customers and reaping the benefits of these, but this comes with the costs of adopting these forms of technology. There are some devices like the Apple watch that make this technology seem very appealing, but a close consideration of the technical viability of introducing these devices will definitely provide more insight. It is definitely an appealing prospect for these companies, but only after a successful scaling of the cost and benefits. This cost-benefit analysis will help companies to identify whether or not they can actually adopt this technology.

Wearable telematics definitely hold a place in the future of the insurance industry. For companies like Boundlss and other startup companies that provide innovative wearables and come up with platforms that are beneficial to insurance companies and members, there is definitely a bright future. With just the right amount of effort, we will be able to see this technology successfully integrated.

Brought to you by the RobustTechHouse team.  If you like our articles, please also check out our Facebook page.