Apple has been reported as having been working secretly on a device that measures blood sugar levels non-invasively. Alphabet’s Google has also been spending much effort in the same area. Through Verily, formerly known as Google Life Sciences, the company invested in projects such as a contact lens that could check glucose levels and a miniaturized continuous glucose monitor (partnered with Dexcom), along with other life science projects.

According to Dr. Jay Parkinson, CEO and founder of Sherpaa, a text platform that directly connects patients with doctors over real-time, argues that over 70% of people who go to the doctors’ offices don’t really need to do so. Doubters of Dr. Parkinson’s company argue that doctors cannot accurately diagnose patients over texts. Now imagine this: if we have the sensors that could monitor all the patients’ vitals and connect those directly to the records that the doctors can access, diagnoses can be much effective. There will always be the option of directing the patient to a medical office should there be a need for further testing. Of course, much technology integration has to happen and HIPAA compliance/privacy issues must be resolved before we can get to that stage, but the development of advanced continuous sensor technology is a giant step in the right direction in reducing not just the cost of healthcare, but the convenience of peoples’ lives and quality of care.