A report from the UK Academy of Medical Royal Colleges (AOMRC) warned that these people could clog up the health system on a massive scale.
Authors of the report said they have already had patients booking up appointments because their Apple watch or Fitbit said their heart rate was too fast or slow when in fact it was perfectly normal.
Here in Australia Dr Abhishek Verma, a general practitioner in East Melbourne, says he’s already witnessing the emerging trend of the “worried well”.
“Patients come in and they report that their heart rate is exceptionally slow or exceptionally fast or that their blood pressure is abnormally high or low and that’s based on the data that their getting from a Fitbit or a Garmin.”
“In many ways it is contributing to this phenomenon of the ‘worried well’ presenting with no symptoms of concern but just data which is really questionable.”
The UK report warns that wait times at GPs could dramatically increase and the health system may become overwhelmed – a prediction Dr Verma says could easily play out in Australia where GP’s are already “stretched to the limit.”
Dr Verma believes there needs to be increased regulation on what sort of data these devices can present.
