Health tech has entered women’s health—but has the science kept up? One expert weighs in
Industry Buzz
There will always be companies ready to jump on the latest and greatest thing before we have enough evidence to recommend it. It can be very hard for women to sort out what is a reliable and meaningful health outcome and what is just hype.
—Karen Adams, MD
Women’s health is big business—and the tech world is taking notice.
Tech companies have launched wearable devices and saliva swab tests, claiming these innovations are revolutionary in helping women manage their health.
Some experts are excited about the increased attention on women’s health, not all are entirely convinced its wholly good.
“Attention to women’s health is always a good thing," begins Karen Adams, MD, clinical professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Stanford University and Director of the Stanford Program in Menopause & Healthy Aging. "Women’s health is the most overregulated and under-researched area of healthcare. We need much more attention paid to it."
But there will always be companies ready to jump on the latest and greatest thing before we have enough evidence to recommend it. It can be very hard for women to sort out what is a reliable and meaningful health outcome and what is just hype.
—Karen Adams, MD
A trillion-dollar industry
Women’s healthcare means big business for tech companies, with an influx of products targeted at women’s health issues.
Data from the World Economic Forum suggests that “closing the gap” in women’s healthcare and addressing inequities in the healthcare system could boost the global economy $1 trillion each year by 2040.[] This is not lost on some companies. One is using AI to support people with eating disorders, and another claims to offer a noninvasive test for endometriosis using blood biomarkers.
In the world of menopause, a UK-based company has launched a saliva swab test that it claims can predict how a woman will experience menopause, offering tailored solutions based on results.
Wearables have also collided with the women’s health world, with one company launching what it calls the world’s first wearable device designed to detect and decode perimenopausal symptoms.
But Dr. Adams isn’t entirely convinced.
“These sorts of devices make me shake my head a little. Women know what symptoms they are experiencing, and they know when their symptoms are improving or worsening. Although many of my patients like tracking the data that wearables provide, tracking data to that extent often can add to a sense of hypervigilance that can be counterproductive," Dr. Adams tells MDLinx.
"For example, if your watch tells you that you didn’t get ‘good quality’ sleep last night, but you feel fine, is that helpful or not helpful? If the issue is vasomotor symptoms, tracking the frequency doesn’t assist us in diagnosing or treating, and the patient knows if her flashing has improved,” she says.
Addressing an unmet need
Dr. Adams argues that the proliferation of devices, tests, and innovations aimed at women does speak to an unmet need in the patient population.
“When there is such interest, we have to wonder if we are missing something. I think the reality is that midlife women have felt unheard—and even dismissed—by the medical community for a long time. This is not really the fault of the individual practitioner, because many who are practicing now simply were not trained to manage perimenopause and menopause,” she says.
We're scrambling now to catch up and train a whole generation of clinicians who didn’t get this training in medical school and residency. As more providers feel competent to treat perimenopause, women won't need to search for someone who can partner with them in navigating the menopause transition.
—Karen Adams, MD
“It’s that search, that feeling of being dismissed, the frustration in not being believed, that has led to the growth of lotions and potions and gadgets that promise everything and sadly, deliver very little," Dr. Adams adds.
But with more innovations hitting the market every day, Dr. Adams worries that some women may get more than they bargained for.
“We just don’t have all the answers from science to guide us, unfortunately,” she says. “I wish the trillions would be spent on research, rather than [on] women buying supplements or devices that have questionable efficacy and may be harmful. It certainly puts them at risk for predatory marketing,” she adds.
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