With more and more people actively or passively tracking their biometrics (through everything from high-end sports watches that capture data on heart rate and blood oxygen levels to diabetics monitoring their blood glucose to simple pedometers embedded into nearly every smartphone), there is a potential treasure trove of health data that can help primary care clinicians better care for their patients — if only this data could be captured and analyzed in a practice’s existing electronic health record. 

A new toolkit, developed by researchers from OCHIN, OHSU Department of Family Medicine and ORPRN can help primary care practices harness that patient-generated health data.

The “Integrating Patient-Generated Digital Health Data into Electronic Health Records in Ambulatory Care Settings” project grew out of an environmental scan led by Duke University and OHSU researchers. Findings from that scan led to a recommendation to develop a strategic toolkit for integrating patient-generated health data. 

The toolkit, developed for and hosted by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), contains a wealth of information, from resources to help organizations identify patient cohorts who might benefit from patient-generated health data capture to advice on choosing information technology solutions to health equity considerations and sources of funding.

Deborah J. Cohen, PhD, lead researcher for OHSU on the toolkit, is hopeful that integrating patient-generated health data into a practice’s EHR will have the potential to increase access and equity for rural and culturally competent healthcare.

To begin exploring a patient-generated health data program for your own practice, download the toolkit from the AHRQ website.