It’s true.

Health care technology is transforming at record speeds, almost at pace with Apple’s release of a new iPhone. A digitally globalized world means more power than ever is in the hands of the patient.

Around one in 10 Americans wear some form of technology on a daily basis, whether it’s a smart–phone or a device to track medical information. It may sound like the premise of a science fiction film, but Mark Benden, C.P.E., Ph.D., associate professor at the Texas A&M Health Science Center School of Public Health, director of the Texas A&M Ergonomics Center and member of the Center for Remote Healthcare Technologies and Systems, believes wearable technology is rapidly approaching the point where devices become omniscient about a patient’s needs and personal habits. “We see wearable devices on a daily basis.

The most common devices – like the Fitbit – are built–in mechanisms that communicate with your cell phone. Soon, we will have devices in all environments – they will monitor us in our homes, while we’re at work and during our personal lives.

As these different devices ‘talk’ to each other, they will be able to know people’s habits and practices. Essentially, they will coach and motivate patients,” Benden said.

And in health care, this type of scientific advancement is powerful. With more than 140 million Americans living with at least one chronic medical condition, these devices could keep patients out of the hospital and monitored on a routine basis.