This is the third article in our series highlighting technology innovations that are transforming healthcare. Read the second article on healthcare informatics.

Mobile technology is being leveraged to help improve the way healthcare is administered and to help patients take charge of their wellness. The biggest and, perhaps, most exciting gains may be in patient-centered apps and wearables. Wearable technology is becoming a big trend and devices such as Fitbit are helping individuals get and stay healthy.

Wearable technology, along with mobile health apps and wireless medical devices, have the potential to revolutionize the healthcare industry as today’s consumers are increasingly involved in their own care, not just for treatment, but also for prevention and general wellness. Blood sugar monitors, Bluetooth scales, and body fitness trackers – to name just a few – will become ubiquitous. Patients, and even healthcare providers, are likely to want the information from these devices to be integrated with medical records to provide 360-degree health profiles.

These wireless devices also provide additional sources of information, other than a patient’s verbal account of symptoms, that providers can use to more accurately diagnose conditions. This is particularly useful in cases where the patient may not be able to articulate what’s wrong, such as with children.

To realize the full benefits of the data that wearables provide, healthcare organizations will need to ensure that their networks can adequately store, process, and analyze the reams of data that these devices will transmit.

Tomorrow: telesurgery