Sutter Health is teaming up with digital health player Validic to investigate the best way to deliver patient-generated health data to caregivers and researchers. Their findings will help shape government policy and determine how industry will treat patient-collected data.
There is a proliferation of wearables, mobile apps and clinical in-home devices that remotely gather patient data. And while this vast volume of data can help patients and physicians manage their conditions and diseases, it still needs a “proven method” delivery into electronic health records, Validic said in a statement.
The pilot demonstration kicked off in September, when Sutter Health patients with Type 2 diabetes started using Sutter’s Mpower app on their smart devices, according to the statement. Coupled with Validic’s digital health platform, the Mpower app can securely connect to a number of devices that measure blood glucose, blood pressure, activity levels and weight. The platform analyzes the data, churning out visual feedback and incentives to motivate patients to stick to their care program.
Additionally, patients may also use Validic’s VitalSnap, which uses a smartphone camera to capture and share data from analog medical devices that are not easily connected to their care teams. Images are sent to the Validic Cloud, where Sutter Health researchers and caregivers may access them.
Accenture, which has contracted with the federal Office of the National Coordinator of Health IT, will prepare a report on the study’s findings. It will detail any obstacles to the broad use of patient-generated data in clinical care and how they can be addressed.
Validic has previously partnered with several industry players on integrating health data. In February this year, it collaborated with Philips to integrate data from third-party devices and apps into Philips’ HealthSuite platform. And in June, Validic joined forces with healthcare strategy group Omnicom to work on new ways to integrate data from apps, wearables and remote monitoring device to help healthcare organizations communicate with patients more effectively.