Integrating Consumer-Grade Wearable Devices and Patient-Generated Health Data into Clinical Care: Perspectives from Healthcare Professionals at a Learning Health System

Background

The increasing popularity of consumer-grade wearable (CGW) devices for everyday use has prompted discussions within learning healthcare systems (LHSs) about the integration of patient-generated health data (PGHD) into clinical workflow.

Objective

To report findings from interviews with healthcare professionals (HCPs) about the potential role of CGWs and PGHD in clinical workflow, which in turn informed recommendations for health systems to consider when integrating PGHD from CGWs.

Design

Mixed methods.

Participants

Clinical care providers and holistic/wellness providers with various training and expertise from the largest integrated health system in the USA (i.e., Veterans Health Administration).

Approach

A purposive sample of 29 individuals who were knowledgeable informants were invited to complete a survey focused on CGW feasibility and usability of PGHD. Those who completed the survey were invited to participate in a semi-structured interview to elicit their perceptions of the barriers and facilitators for PGHD utilization. Survey data were analyzed descriptively and rapid qualitative analysis techniques were used to identify themes from interview data.

Key Results

Twenty-one HCPs were included in this study. Quantitative and qualitative findings revealed significant interest in PGHD integration in clinical workflow and patient interactions. Clinical care providers focused on the value of PGHD as a complement to traditional clinical data, whereas holistic/wellness providers emphasized using CGWs and PGHD for behavioral change. Their interest levels were tempered by concerns about workload implications and apprehension about having to distill the vast amount of PGHD of varying validity into clinically actionable information.

Conclusions

Integrating CGWs and PGHD can enable an LHS to improve patient outcomes, particularly to promote health access and equity. Yet, concerns were raised regarding staffing and workload issues, data interpretation, expectations, access, privacy, and educational needs. Therefore, harnessing the benefits of CGWs will require investing in health systems’ infrastructure to optimally integrate PGHD into clinical workflow.