5 Health Tech Trends to Watch in 2014 | Buzz e-sante | Scoop.it

If 2013 was the year of wearables and health apps, what’s on tap for 2014?

 

Here are five exciting health tech trends to keep an eye on for the new year.

 

1. Data in the Doctor’s OfficeAccording to Pew Research, 21% of Americans already use some form of technology to track their health data, and as the market for wearable devices and health apps grows, so too will the mountain of data about our behaviors and vitals. Next year, we may see more of this data incorporated into our day-to-day medical care.

2. Smart Clothes

If a wristband or clip-on tracker isn’t part of your look, there’s hope for you in 2014, because a new wave of wearable smart garments will be hitting the stores next year. In fact, market research company Markets and Markets expects sales of smart clothes and fabrics to reach $2.03 billion by 2018.

 

3. Augmented NutritionOf course, if you want to fit into the latest smart fashion, you might need to keep better tabs on what you’re eating. We’ve already seen popular apps such as Fooducate make things easy by letting you scan the barcodes on packaged foods to gather nutrition data. In 2014, we’ll see new technologies that take even more of the guesswork out of counting calories. 4. Virtual House Calls

Virtual house calls also just got a big boost with the recent launch of Google Helpouts, a new marketplace for getting personalized help over live video chat. Although it’s still early days for the new service, you can already browse the Google Helpouts Health marketplace for medical advice, mental health issues, nutrition counseling, weight loss and more. You can even get wellness advice for your pets.

 

5. Health Rewards

If looking and feeling good isn’t enough of a payoff, how about getting paid for getting healthy?

 
Via nrip