The Heart of Healthcare | A Digital Health Podcast

Can Wearables Move from Wellness to Medicine? | ŌURA CEO Tom Hale

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Sep 22, 2025

Tom Hale, CEO of ŌURA, shares insights from his extensive career in tech as he leads the charge in wearable health. He discusses how wearables have matured from simple fitness trackers to powerful health tools, capable of predicting illness and changing behaviors. Listeners learn about building trust in healthcare, the critical role of design in user engagement, and how Oura integrates with healthcare systems. Hale also highlights practical advice for improving heart rate variability, which can impact stress and recovery.

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INSIGHT

Sleep + Breadth Reduce App Fatigue

Sleep drives frequency of use because everyone sleeps daily, creating habitual product interactions.
Breadth of health domains (sleep, stress, women's health, activity) reduces app fatigue by staying relevant across life changes.

INSIGHT

Form Factor Improves Signal Quality

The ring form factor improves nighttime tracking because finger tissue yields stronger, less noisy signals than the wrist.
Better sensor placement unlocks more accurate physiology and predictive insights.

ANECDOTE

Using Symptom Radar To Avoid Travel Sickness

Tom uses Symptom Radar to spot early physiological deviations before travel-related sickness hits.
He rests and rehydrates when alerted and reports he now rarely gets sick after trips.

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Thanks to improved accuracy and new form factors, wearables have evolved from novelty step counters to tools that can predict illness, nudge healthier behaviors, and even influence alcohol consumption. But can they really bridge the gap between consumer wellness and enterprise healthcare?

In this episode, ŌURA CEO Tom Hale discusses the lessons his team has learned from developing one of the most widely used health-tracking devices. We explore what draws people to wearables, what sustains their engagement, and how these tools may be shaping behavior and healthcare itself.

We cover:

🕰️ The past, present, and future of wearables

🩺 What it takes to build trust with users, clinicians, and payers

🍷 The number one thing people do differently after wearing an Oura ring

🔑 Unlocking behavior change, and which habits are most malleable

🏥 Why payers and health systems are beginning to integrate wearables into care models

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About our guest:

Tom Hale is the Chief Executive Officer at ŌURA and a member of its board. As the CEO he sets the company’s business strategy and vision to make health a daily practice for members all over the world. He has over 30 years of experience across the technology and consumer product industry.

Before joining ŌURA, Hale was president of Momentive where he drove B2B strategy and led product growth. During his time there he was instrumental in taking the company public in 2018, leading the team in key acquisitions, and driving the evolution and rebranding of the company into a multiple SAAS business. Previously, he held leadership roles at HomeAway and Linden Lab as the Chief Operating Officer and Chief Product Officer, respectively, and held executive roles at Macromedia and Adobe.

Hale has a Bachelor of Arts from Harvard University and sits on the boards of Cars.com, RocketReach, and NoiseAware.

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