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Abstract

This systematic review summarizes data from different clinical studies to assess the cost-effectiveness of wearable health devices in the management of chronic diseases. The Newcastle-Ottawa Scale for observational studies and the Cochrane Risk of Bias tool for randomized trials were used to evaluate the quality. Out of the initially identified set of 510 studies, 78 studies met the inclusion criteria, in which there were 30 observational studies and 48 randomized control trials with a total participants n=8,247. The most researched populations were diabetes (k=15), cardiovascular diseases (k=12), and respiratory disorders (k=8). Throughout the literature, wearable technologies were continually linked with decreases in healthcare usage, which consisted of less hospitalization and fewer emergency room visits. Annual healthcare cost savings were reported to be between 12 and 22 percent of ordinary care with higher levels being reported in research studies of continuous glucose monitoring for diabetes and cardiac events for cardiovascular disease. Diabetes had the highest average return on investment (ROI) of 1.8 (range 1.5-2.1) with an overall ROI average of 1.5 (range 1.0-2.1). Cost-effectiveness was ranked as 80% for diabetes and 40% for other chronic illnesses. The cost-effectiveness of the various patient groups varied, with younger and tech-savvy populations benefiting more financially. Additionally, this review emphasises how different wearable technology kinds and patient demographics have varying economic impacts. Therefore, this study offers important insights for policy makers and healthcare professionals on the integration of wearable technology into chronic illness treatment strategies, balancing cost and care efficacy‎.

Keywords: Wearable technology, Cost-effectiveness, Chronic disease, Return on investment (ROI), Systematic review

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