Ryan Shaw, associate professor, leads national report funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) entitled, "Integrating Patient-generated Digital Health Data into Electronic Health Records in Ambulatory Care Settings: An Environmental Scan." 

Background/Purpose
The U.S. health care system is in a transitional period. Data traditionally collected in a clinic or hospital setting is now able to be collected in everyday environments of patients and is known as patient-generated health data (PGHD). Ambulatory care practices with access to PGHD in their electronic health records (EHRs) may be able to improve patient outcomes, care coordination, quality, and cost-effectiveness.

Opportunity and need for PGHD became apparent in 2020 when the novel coronavirus pandemic abruptly reduced the number of primary and specialty care visits occurring face-to-face, replacing them with telehealth — such as eVisits and telephone calls. Yet identifying which data are needed and supporting patients and clinicians through data capture and transfer into EHRs is highly complex. Effective use of PGHD in clinics poses many challenges, including clinician and patient burden, poor usability, workflow integration challenges, and the potential to exacerbate health inequities. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) commissioned an environmental scan that would serve to inform the development of a practical guide that ambulatory care settings can use as they approach the use of PGHD for patient care.

Citation

Shaw RJ, Boazak M, Tiase V, et al. Integrating Patient-generated Digital Health Data into Electronic Health Records in Ambulatory Care Settings: An Environmental Scan. Prepared under Contract 75Q80120D00019 / 75Q80120F32001. AHRQ Publication No. 21-0031. Rockville, MD: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. May 2021. (PDF, 1.58 MB)