Smartwatches used for medical monitoring and insurance benefits

Smartwatches are increasingly being utilized for medical monitoring, as highlighted by a case involving an athlete named Connor. While training for a triathlon, Connor noticed an unusually high heart rate and used the EKG feature on his Apple Watch, which detected signs of atrial fibrillation. Subsequent medical examinations revealed a congenital heart condition that required open-heart surgery.

In the Czech Republic, health insurance providers are beginning to incentivize the use of such technology. Oborová zdravotní pojišťovna, through its VITAKARTA application and medical device programs for the chronically ill, offers contributions of up to 10,000 CZK for smartwatches capable of EKG monitoring. Supported devices include Apple Watch Series 4 and higher, as well as certain Samsung models, provided users meet specific program requirements.