Medical Technology Is At Our Fingertips

Imagine being able to perform an EKG, electrocardiogram test, right in the comfort of your own home. Advancements in technology have begun mixing with the medical world and the discoveries are groundbreaking. Apple is working on a feature that will allow their users to perform an EKG with their apple watch.

I recently examined New York Times article, “That New Apple Watch EKG Feature? There Are More Downs Than Ups” by Aaron E. Carroll which was about the idea that technology accessible to the public has a heart monitor should not be considered a medical device and it reflects wider problems with health screens. Doctors have always required a regular visit to monitor heart activity but with technology, it appears that doctors can monitor this activity from a distance.

Carroll agrees that this may not be as effective as Apple might convey due to false positives and negatives as well as not having this technology easily available to everyone.

According to Carroll, “Before granting clearance, the F.D.A. reviewed data collected by the Stanford Heart study for 266 people who got such a notification. Most of the notifications were wrong.” In other words, Carroll explains that during its tests, it proved to have many false positives and negatives which may concern those taking the test and their family for no apparent reason. False positives may stress the patient for no reason and false negatives may give the patient no reason for concern when they should have one. 

I agree that having advanced medical tests accessible on public technology is unreasonable because even though it may seem ideal and convenient it is not accurate and unreasonable.

Carroll states, “The people most in need of it, those who might benefit from tests and distance monitoring, are the least likely to get it.” Of course many will probably disagree with this assertion because many may be motivated to buy this technology if it has this feature. Although I grant that this would be convenient, I still maintain that it is not practical because the technology is expensive and therefore not everyone would have the privilege of having one. 

Ultimately, the idea of giving the public more access to technology is a good idea if it is executed correctly. Everyone must have an equal chance of purchasing an Apple watch and the programming of the feature must be accurate to almost never produce false positives or negatives.