What Healthcare Can Learn from Oura: Experience Sells, Even in Regulated Markets

Imagine a future where a doctor hands you a sleek little ring at your annual wellness visit. Not a pamphlet or a vague recommendation to “eat better” or “sleep more,” but an Oura Ring.

No pharmacy. No insurance claim. Just a beautifully designed, science-backed tool prescribed with the same authority as a statin or a blood pressure cuff, and something I can walk out of my provider's office with.

This is the direction consumer wellness brands are pulling healthcare. Clear. Engaging. Built around daily behavior and personal agency.

I’m writing this blog because I’ve noticed that the lines between consumer wellness and clinical care are blurring. And that presents both a challenge and an opportunity for traditional healthcare and digital health companies to get curious and learn from each other.

What Consumer Wellness Brands Like Oura Are Getting Right in Healthcare

1. They Design for Desire, Not Just Function

Healthcare devices have historically been clunky and designed for clinicians, not consumers. Oura flipped that script. The ring is sleek and discreet, making it something users want to wear.

Takeaway for healthcare marketers: Design is not decoration. It’s strategy. If your product or experience doesn’t make people feel something and aspire to something more, it's forgettable.

Forgettable is a strong word, and yet very true.

2. They Market Outcomes, Not Features

Oura doesn’t lead with sensors or specs. They sell better sleep, smarter recovery, and clearer readiness.

They speak in the language of the user’s goals, not the product’s technical features.

Takeaway: Traditional healthcare often leads with "what" and "how." Consumer wellness brands lead with "why." That’s how they win attention and engagement.

3. They Build Direct Relationships with Users

There are no intermediaries or billing codes — just a personalized experience for consumers that feels relevant, consistent, and easy to integrate into daily life.

This intimacy with the end user is powerful, and it’s something many traditional healthcare brands struggle to deliver. That said, not all consumers can afford the upfront cost of Oura, but with HSA/FSA eligibility, access is becoming more viable for many.

Takeaway: If your healthcare marketing still thinks in terms of patients and procedures, you're missing the bigger picture. The best healthtech companies build relationships with people across every moment of their daily lives and health journey.

A Marketer and Patient’s Perspective on Wearables in Healthcare

I’ve spent my career in healthcare marketing and user research, helping organizations design with real users in mind. I also live with diabetes. And like many patients, I use both medical-grade and consumer-grade products in my daily life.

I use Dexcom and deeply value its role in managing my health. The data is reliable. The science is strong. The stakes are high, and Dexcom delivers.

But when I engage with their brand, I don’t always feel inspired. I feel monitored by someone or something without compassion or personality.

That’s where Oura stands out — not as a replacement for Dexcom or any FDA-regulated device, but as a clear example of how consumer wellness brands have elevated the experience. When I open the Oura app or see their content, I’m reminded of who I could be, not just who I am when managing a chronic condition.

To be clear, I’m not advocating for Oura or similar wearables to substitute for medical-grade devices. I’m referencing Oura as a symbol of how consumer-first brands are challenging healthcare to do better: to design with intention, communicate with clarity, and inspire possibility through experience.

That’s not a contradiction. That’s the new standard we should be working toward.

Could Consumer Wellness Tools Become Standard in Traditional Healthcare?

Imagine if tools like Oura were prescribed at scale - not as perks, but as core components of preventative care that help us make a plan for possibility.

Benefits:

• Proactive data leads to earlier interventions

• Higher engagement leads to better outcomes

• Stronger behavior change reduces long-term costs

• Seamless integration with hybrid and virtual care models

• Personalization improves adherence and loyalty

According to PwC’s research on consumer health behavior, nearly 60% of people are more likely to engage with healthcare services when the experience feels personalized. We’ve been discussing personalization for a decade — but with consumer wellness now leading the charge, it feels like we’re just getting started.

Challenges:

• Reimbursement remains a barrier

• Clinicians are wary of wellness data lacking medical validation

• Privacy, interoperability, and EHR integration are complex

• Regulatory expectations are increasing

WHOOP is a good example. Originally a fitness tracker for athletes, WHOOP expanded into blood pressure health monitoring and is now under FDA scrutiny. It’s a reminder that consumer brands entering healthcare must meet new expectations — and not all are ready.

Takeaway: Inspiration from wellness brands is useful, but regulated healthcare must still lead with rigor and responsibility.

How FDA Scrutiny Is Shaping the Future of Wellness and Medical Devices

Wearables are entering the regulated space, and scrutiny is rising. But what if this pressure helped move the industry forward?

What if FDA oversight required not just clinical accuracy, but better experience design?

Dexcom is clinically reliable. But its onboarding, app experience, and visual language feel medical. That’s expected, but it also creates friction for many users.

Oura, by contrast, delivers a lifestyle experience. It’s relevant. It’s motivating. And it feels anything but sterile or sad.

Should those expectations matter in regulated healthtech?

If engagement drives adherence, and adherence drives outcomes, then experience design becomes clinical.

Healthcare teams need to recognize this because expectations are changing fast.

How HealthTech Teams Can Compete with Consumer Wellness Experiences

You are no longer just competing with other health systems or device manufacturers. You’re competing with:

• Oura

• WHOOP

• Levels

• Headspace

• Peloton

These consumer wellness brands are not just winning attention. They’re setting a new baseline for what “good” feels like in healthcare.

And patients are noticing. According to Rock Health's 2024 Consumer Adoption Survey, trust, affordability, and seamless experiences now drive digital health engagement more than access or novelty.

That's the competitive edge. It's not about just offering a clinical solution but delivering an experience that earns trust and fits effortlessly into people's lives.

Final Thought on What Healthcare Can Learn From Oura

The future of healthcare isn’t being built solely by health systems or in FDA review meetings. It’s being shaped by people and by brands that meet them where they are.

If your company is still marketing to patients instead of designing for and with people, this is your cue to shift.

Because the Oura Ring isn’t just a wearable. It’s a signal of changing expectations, rising experience standards, and the future of healthcare engagement where style and possibility are finally on the menu.