So far it has never worked when or how it’s supposed to.

If the watch doesn’t touch your patients you should be fine.

The long term goal is to make the bands obsolete. An Apple certified device will be inserted under the skin and the watch will adhere to it. This is projected to happen with Apple Watch 30 as there are still a few details that need to be worked out. /s

I got a backup from Amazon for $10 specifically for this reason. During the last 18 months I’ve used it once.