Key points
- A personal health profile helps you understand your results and prepare for appointments, and diagnosis stays with a clinician.
- Treat a list of possible conditions from any app as the start of a conversation with a clinician.
- Wellness wearables sit outside medical device rules when they are unrelated to diagnosing or treating disease, as set out in FDA guidance updated in January 2026.1
- Take a wearable alert to a clinician. In a study of 419,297 smartwatch users, 34% of those notified of an irregular pulse who returned an ECG patch had atrial fibrillation on it.2
- wai Profiles answer questions about your own results with citations and a clear line to a clinician, and know when to hand you over.5
Summary
A personal health profile can explain your results in plain language and show trends from your wearables, so you arrive at an appointment prepared. It cannot examine you or diagnose a condition, so new or worsening symptoms need a clinician, and an emergency needs your local emergency number.
You understand your own results and trends, and you know exactly when to bring them to your clinician. Your results arrive on your phone and your ring tracks your sleep, and the gain is greatest when the line between understanding and a clinician's decision is clear.
See it in your clinicThirty minutes on your own patients and doctors.
Request a demoSee how a wai Profile explains your own results with sources, and shows clearly when it is time to see a clinician.
| Situation | A health profile can | A clinician is needed to |
|---|---|---|
| A new blood result arrives | Explain each value, its range and how it compares with past results | Interpret it against your history and decide what follows |
| A wearable shows an unusual reading | Show the reading in context of your usual trend | Confirm it with a medical test and assess what it means |
| A new or changing symptom | Help you note when it started and prepare questions | Examine you and make a diagnosis |
| A question about a medicine | Explain what it is for, with sources | Start, stop or change it |
| An emergency | Nothing, call your local emergency number | Treat you urgently |
What a health profile does well
A good personal health profile brings results from different clinics onto one timeline and explains each one in plain language, with its source and your wearable trends alongside.
You arrive at the appointment understanding your own numbers, and the time goes on the decision. Sharing that record is covered in our guide to sharing with a care team.
Where a clinician takes over
A diagnosis rests on examining you and taking responsibility for treatment, and both belong to a clinician.
In a BMJ audit, 23 online symptom checkers were tested on 45 standardised patient cases and listed the correct diagnosis first in 34% of evaluations, and within the top 20 in 58%.4 They gave appropriate triage advice in 57% of evaluations.4 A list of possible conditions is a starting point for a conversation with a clinician.
The limits of wearable data
Most consumer wearables are general wellness products. FDA guidance, updated in January 2026, explains that software intended for maintaining or encouraging a healthy lifestyle, and unrelated to the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, prevention or treatment of a disease, is not a medical device under US law.1
A Duke University study of consumer and research-grade wearables found that heart rate error was on average 30% higher during activity than at rest, with significant differences between devices.3 Resting and steady readings were reasonably accurate.3
In a study of 419,297 smartwatch users, 0.52% received an irregular pulse notification, and among those who returned a usable ECG patch, 34% had atrial fibrillation on it.2 Of 1,376 notified participants who answered a 90-day survey, 57% contacted a health care provider outside the study.2 Taking the alert to a clinician is the right response.
When to see a clinician
See a clinician for any symptom that is new, worsening or worrying, and before starting or stopping a medicine. Take device alerts and out-of-range results to the same appointment, with your profile to help you prepare.
If you think it is an emergency, such as chest pain or difficulty breathing, call your local emergency number straight away, without waiting for an answer from an app.
How wai Profiles hands you to a clinician
A wai Profile answers questions about a result or a medication in the context of your own record, grounded in medical literature and guidance, with citations and a clear line when it is time to see a clinician.5 It is designed to know when to hand you to a clinician.5
The record is scanned continuously, and anything that matters is seen by a clinician before it reaches your phone.5 Diagnosis and treatment stay with your clinician. Profiles are open to everyone, and you can set up your wai Profile.
Where to start
Use a health profile to collect your results and understand them, and write down the questions each result raises. Take those questions, with the record, to your clinician.
Book an appointment for any wearable alert, and note when it happened and what you were doing. Keep your local emergency number in mind for anything urgent. For control over who sees your record, see our guide to privacy and permissions.
Bring your results and wearable data together in a wai Profile, understand them with sources, and take the right questions to your clinician.
Frequently asked questions
Can an AI health assistant diagnose me?
No. It can explain results and suggest questions to ask, and a diagnosis needs a clinician who can examine you and weigh everything together. Online symptom checkers listed the correct diagnosis first in 34% of evaluations in a BMJ audit.4
My smartwatch flagged an irregular pulse. What should I do?
Book an appointment with a clinician and bring the alert details. In a study of 419,297 users, 34% of notified participants who returned an ECG patch had atrial fibrillation on it, so an alert needs medical confirmation.2 If you feel seriously unwell, call your local emergency number straight away.
Are wearables regulated as medical devices?
Many are not. FDA guidance says software for maintaining or encouraging a healthy lifestyle, unrelated to diagnosing or treating disease, is not a medical device.1 Some specific features are regulated, and the product information says which.
How accurate is wearable heart rate?
Reasonably accurate at rest and during steady activity, with error on average 30% higher during activity than at rest and differences between devices.3
When should I stop reading and call someone?
For anything that feels like an emergency, such as chest pain or difficulty breathing, call your local emergency number. For new, persistent or worsening symptoms, book a clinician.
Does a wai Profile replace my doctor?
No. It explains your own results with sources, shows a clear line when it is time to see a clinician, and is designed to hand you to one.5
Sources
- 1US Food and Drug Administration, 2026General Wellness: Policy for Low Risk Devices, guidance for industry and FDA staff (January 2026)Read 14 October 2026Read source
- 2New England Journal of Medicine, 2019Large-Scale Assessment of a Smartwatch to Identify Atrial Fibrillation (Perez and colleagues, abstract read via PubMed)Read 14 October 2026Read source
- 3npj Digital Medicine, 2020Investigating sources of inaccuracy in wearable optical heart rate sensors (Bent and colleagues, abstract read via PubMed)Read 14 October 2026Read source
- 4BMJ, 2015Evaluation of symptom checkers for self diagnosis and triage, audit study (Semigran and colleagues, abstract read via PubMed)Read 14 October 2026Read source
- 5wai, 2026wai Profiles, a personal health record for every patientRead 14 October 2026Read source
Understand your own numbers, and know exactly when to bring them to your clinician.
Set up your wai Profile, open now. It explains your own results with sources and hands you to a clinician when it matters.
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