FitBit and Fuelband for remote monitoring can save hospitals time and money says Cambridge University Hospitals Trust chief

Why should certain patients have to stay overnight in hospital when we can consult with them at home, asks chief medical information officer Dr Afzal Chaudhry

Wearable devices like Fitbit or Apple Watch that monitor the health and fitness of users could, and arguably should, be used in the care of NHS patients.

That's according to Dr Afzal Chaudhry, chief medical information officer for Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, who was speaking at an HP eHospital innovation event at the Academy of Medical Sciences in central London.

The NHS medical director, Professor Sir Bruce Keogh, also argued recently that wearable technology could revolutionise healthcare.

Cambridge University Hospitals Trust has gone through a digital transformation programme that has seen the introduction of brand new technological systems for collecting and monitoring patient data, through partner HP.

All of the data collected by frontline clinical staff at Addenbrooke's and Rosie hospitals goes into an Epic electronic medical records (EMR) system, which allows staff to enter and collect data from any computer device using an online portal.

The automated system has helped improve patient care by providing clinicians with a more accurate picture of patients, and as Dr Chaudhry explained it "allows patients to see as much or as little of their clinical record as we wish them to see".

The system is of particular benefit to those with chronic illnesses such as diabetes or respiratory problems.

"We can show them their notes, we can show them their results, they can see their appointments and even change them in the mobile version of the portal because there's a mobile friendly version of the application," said Dr Chaudhry, who said that there is a possibility to extend this functionality to allow patients to input their own data from home.

"Diabetics can record their blood sugar, people with chronic lung diseases can record their own breathing volumes within that system," he said, adding that this is where wearable technology could play a key role.

"That means we can track their care even when they're not with us. There's an opportunity to integrate technology like FitBit, Nike Fuelband, weighing scales at home, so more information comes back to us."

In essence, wearable devices could enable the Trust to "pursue the opportunity of virtual clinics", using the power of video conferencing "so we can do face to face consultation with out patients," Chaudhry said.

He explained how the hospitals are already using remote video conferencing in some instances, freeing up time for both patients and practitioners.

"One of my areas of expertise is an auto-immune condition that affects blood vessels. Two-thirds of the patients that are referred to our clinical service come from outside the Eastern region, they come from the rest of the UK including Wales and Scotland and we get some patients from Europe as well," Chaudhry said.

"So the ability for us to consult with these patients and review their information without having to drag them for six to eight hours for an overnight stay at Cambridge is a real benefit to them and also a benefit for us," he continued.

"Because whilst it's always nice to see people, it does seem somewhat silly just to drag them up to the clinic to tell them they're fine when we could use that appointment slot for somebody else."

While Dr Chaudhry and the University of Cambridge Hospitals Trust are positive about the potential of wearable technology to revolutionise healthcare, there are those who are less enthusiastic.

Writing in the British Medical Journal, Des Spence, a general practitioner from Glasgow, argued that humanity is "wasting its time on wearable technology and medical apps" and that many of these wearables are merely "health bling" that can only solve minor issues.