Wearables data is entering clinical care as adoption grows

Not only is the adoption of wearable healthcare devices growing, but the data from these devices is also increasingly being integrated into the traditional healthcare system. According to a new Rock Health analysis, 46% of Americans report owning a wearable device, and more than half say they have discussed their wearable data with a healthcare provider.

The analysis is based on Rock Health's 2025 Consumer Adoption of Digital Health Survey, which polled 8,000 U.S. adults from Dec. 1 to Dec. 23, 2025.

The analysis revealed that 57% of U.S. adults report owning at least one wearable, such as a smartwatch or smart ring, or one connected device, including a continuous glucose monitor, smart scale or connected blood pressure cuff. Nearly half of respondents (46%) reported owning a wearable, a 33-percentage-point jump from 13% in 2015.

Among respondents who owned a wearable device, 93% owned a smartwatch and 18% owned a smart ring, the analysis showed.

Engagement among wearables users is high: 83% wear their devices five days per week or more, and 59% say they always or nearly always wear theirs. A majority of wearable owners use their devices to track physical activity (35%), sleep (26%) and heart rate (21%).

Notably, data from wearable devices is increasingly entering clinical conversations, according to the analysis. More than half (59%) of wearable owners have discussed their wearable data with a healthcare provider, with 30% saying they do so regularly, while 29% saying they have done so at least once. About 20% said they want to discuss their wearable data with their clinician, but haven't as yet. 

"The appeal is fairly straightforward, given wearables capture something traditional healthcare visits can't: a continuous and often long-term picture of how people function between appointments," Rock Health researchers wrote in the analysis. "But by and large, clinical infrastructure has yet to loop this data in."

Other findings from the analysis include demographic trends in wearables ownership. Device remains concentrated among younger, wealthier, more urban and healthier adults, the survey analysis revealed. Device ownership is also higher among racial and ethnic minorities (64%) than among their white counterparts (54%). Ownership varied by device type, with millennials accounting for 59% of smart ring owners, and women accounting for 53% of smartwatch owners.  

Wearable owners also tend to remain loyal to their selected brand. Nearly half of wearable owners (48%) are still using the same wearable they started with, while 27% have upgraded to a newer model from the same brand. 

"The question about wearables a decade ago was whether consumers would adopt wearables, and indeed, they have," the researchers wrote. "What remains unresolved is impact -- in what these devices can generate and what can be done with this data to meaningfully improve health outcomes."

Anuja Vaidya has covered the healthcare industry since 2012. She currently covers healthcare IT and innovation, including artificial intelligence, digital healthcare, EHRs and interoperability.