Wearable Tech as a Revenue, Clinical Service Opportunity for Pharmacists | NCPA 2026

From over-the-counter (OTC) continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) to body composition scales and recovery-tracking wearables, health tech is giving pharmacists a new way to help patients improve their metabolic health long before a diagnosis.

To provide further detail on her NCPA 2026 session “How to Integrate Wearable Health Tech into Wellness Care,” Lara Zakaria, PharmD, MS, CNS, FMCP, owner, pharmacist, and clinical nutritionist consulting with the Foodie Farmacist, joined Drug Topics in a recent interview. Tapping into her experience with a variety of patient needs and health outlooks, she provided a first-hand look at the emergence of wearable health technology in pharmacy practice.

“Wearables are currently about a $90 billion industry, and by 2033, it's approximately going to hit estimates around $250 billion,” Zakaria told Drug Topics®. “If we are, especially as pharmacists who are in the retail space, not considering our role in dispensing and selling health tech, I think we're missing a major financial opportunity.”

READ MORE: Independent Pharmacies Remain Resilient, Essential Community Providers | NCPA 2026

Unlocking Clinical Insights Beyond Conventional Metrics

Beyond the financial potential of retailing devices, the primary clinical opportunity lies in targeting metabolic health before chronic disease takes root. Zakaria highlights 3 vital hardware categories for community pharmacy integration, including CGMs, body composition scales, and recovery trackers.

Although traditional metrics like body weight or body mass index offer limited actionable insight, body composition scales evaluate visceral fat surrounding organs, providing a clearer picture of systemic inflammation and long-term health risks. CGMs allow patients to observe real-time blood sugar responses to food, stress, and physical activity, fostering metabolic flexibility that can stave off type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular complications, and renal disease.

Furthermore, recovery devices that measure sleep quality and heart rate variability offer unprecedented visibility into sympathetic nervous system stress and heart health. Moving away from traditional periodic spot checks toward continuous physiologic tracking enables pharmacists to detect subtle anomalies earlier and deliver personalized, proactive care.¹

Empowering Patients Through Data Interpretation and Behavior Change

Although consumer adoption of smartwatches and connected health devices continues to expand globally, many users struggle to convert raw biometric feedback into meaningful lifestyle changes.^2,3

Community pharmacists occupy an ideal position in primary care to interpret this flood of health data, offering structured counseling that drives patient self-efficacy and sustained behavior modification. Through motivational feedback, goal setting, and routine progress tracking, pharmacists help patients connect daily choices with tangible physiological outcomes.

Research indicates that patients maintain immense confidence in their local pharmacists, with 90% expressing strong trust in pharmacy-led support for connected health technology. By guiding individuals through initial technical hurdles and data interpretation, pharmacists foster patient empowerment while improving medication adherence and shared decision-making across clinical care teams.^2,3

Overcoming Operational Barriers to Build Sustainable Pharmacy Services

Integrating health technology into daily practice aligns with a broader digital transformation across the pharmacy sector, where market volume is projected to grow significantly as telepharmacy platforms and digital tools expand clinical capabilities.⁴

Beyond OTC sales, remote patient monitoring allows pharmacists to generate new revenue streams through structured clinical consultations and chronic disease management services. However, widespread adoption across retail environments requires overcoming key institutional obstacles.^2-4

Pharmacists frequently face barriers such as time constraints, a lack of specialized training in connected medical devices, and missing reimbursement pathways for digital health support.²

Establishing formalized fee-for-service compensation models, upskilling staff in data analysis, and using secure digital messaging to communicate with prescribing physicians are just some essential steps toward cementing pharmacy as a central figure in modern, technology-enabled health care.^2,3

READ MORE: NCPA Annual Convention & Expo Resource Center

REFERENCES

1. How integrated wearable technologies are shaping the next era of health care innovation. Harvard Business Review. April 8, 2026. Accessed October 8, 2026. https://hbr.org/sponsored/2026/04/how-integrated-wearable-technologies-are-shaping-the-next-era-of-health-care-innovation

2. Salomez-Ihl C, Liaigre L, Dala W, et al. Role of the pharmacist in supporting the use of connected health devices: example of connected watches. Pharmacy (Basel). 2026 Feb 3;14(1):28. doi: 10.3390/pharmacy14010028

3. Kang HS, Exworthy M. Wearing the future-wearables to empower users to take greater responsibility for their health and care: scoping review. JMIR Mhealth Uhealth. 2022;10(7):e35684. Published 2022 Jul 13. doi:10.2196/35684

4. Almeman A. The digital transformation in pharmacy: embracing online platforms and the cosmeceutical paradigm shift. J Health Popul Nutr. 2024;43(1):60. Published 2024 May 8. doi:10.1186/s41043-024-00550-2