Integrating Patient-Generated Digital Health Data into Electronic Health Records in Ambulatory Care Settings

Patient-generated health data are “health-related data created, recorded, or gathered by or from patients (or family members or other caregivers) to help address a health concern.” By providing insights into the day-to-day health of an individual, patients and clinicians can employ better strategies to prevent and manage acute and chronic conditions, through monitoring for remission and relapse. In addition, clinicians and scientists can use these data to generate and apply analytical techniques to improve risk prediction and diagnoses. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) policies allow manufacturers of certain FDA-cleared non-invasive, vital-sign-measuring devices that measure biometrics to expand their use so healthcare providers can use devices to monitor patients remotely. While these technologies are promising, the ability for ambulatory care practices to successfully collect these data in collaboration with patients, transfer data to their electronic health records (EHRs), and use them effectively in clinics poses many challenges.

To address these challenges and to advance the integration and use of PGHD in ambulatory care settings, a research team, led by Oregon Health & Science University, conducted an environmental scan to identify knowledge and evidence gaps pertaining to the use of PGHD, which then informed the development of an evidence-based practical guide on integrating PDHD for ambulatory care practices.

The specific aims of the research were as follows:

• Conduct an environmental scan (PDF, 1.58MB) on the current state and challenges of collecting, exchanging, and integrating patient-generated digital health data into an EHR system in ambulatory care settings. 
• Develop a guide (PDF, 5.66MB) based on findings and recommendations from the environmental scan. 

The guide is intended to support ambulatory care settings of all types—including offices of physicians and other health professionals, outpatient departments, community health centers, ambulatory surgical centers, and urgent care clinics and specialty clinics—in the design and implementation of successful PGHD programs that can improve patient outcomes. The guide is organized into folios to support ambulatory practices—in partnership with patients—navigate the many steps from design, to launch, to maintenance of a successful, sustainable PGHD integration program. Folios include planning considerations and practical activities to support organizations’ effort to deploy a new and complex care delivery modality into practice.