Fact sheet 10-2016

Sharing Patient-gathered Data from M-health Tools

There are growing expectations that selections of data from patient-operated mobile systems become available for health care personnel via electronic health records (EHRs), as are demonstrated in the results (31 countries and 1,130 patients/carers) of PatientView’s 2015 White Paper [1]. This fact-sheet summarizes white papers, reports and literature (2015-2016) related to presenting patient-gathered data in and between consultations.

Sources for knowledge about m-health data integration

Health authorities lack sufficient evidence from mHealth studies, largely because traditional data and reporting standards are not appropriate for the technology [2]. In response, WHO and mTERG have developed the mERA Checklist [3].

Scientific literature: medical and operational requirements for m-health implementation:

• Health personnel training [4, 5]
• IT system flexibility [6, 7]
• Stakeholder collaboration [8-10]

Options for collecting & sharing m-health data

Few formats or standards are available for transferring data between m-health tools and health services. However, preliminary concepts exist:

• EU Commission’s Code of Conduct: privacy for m-health apps [11]. Proposal of a “multi-stakeholder governance model” to enforce compliance with EU Data Protection Law.
• Few cloud-sharing protocols suggested by research studies, e.g. [12]
• Models for m-health data integration [13].

Commercial apps meet some of the demands

• App developers aim to support clinicians’ efforts to diagnose, treat and schedule their patients - with “follow-up” projected to be the greatest impact area [14].
• Some commercial diabetes apps provide data-sharing formats for patients and clinicians, e.g.:
  - DiaSend [15],
  - Glooko [16],
  - Dexcom [17]
• Other apps, such as Apple HealthKit, are partnering with health systems, e.g. an Epic client, Duke Medicine, to pursue m-health integration [18].

References

1. What patients and carers need in apps - but are not getting. 2015, PatientView: https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/news/study-what-do-patients-and-carers-need-health-apps-are-not-getting.
2. Commission, E. Which priorities for a European policy on multimorbidity? in Which priorities for a European policy on multimorbidity? 2015. Brussels: European Commission.
3. Stroulia, E., et al., Home care and technology: a case study. Stud Health Technol Inform, 2012. 182: s. 142-52.
4. Wang, J., et al., Smartphone interventions for long-term health management of chronic diseases: an integrative review. Telemed J E Health, 2014. 20(6): s. 570-83.
5. Nielsen, J.A. and S.A. Mengiste, Analysing the diffusion and adoption of mobile IT across social worlds. Health Informatics J, 2014. 20(2): s. 87-103.
6. Nielsen, J.A. and L. Mathiassen, Interpretive flexibility in mobile health: lessons from a government-sponsored home care program. J Med Internet Res, 2013. 15(10): s. e236.
7. Yellowlees, P.M., Successfully developing a telemedicine system. J Telemed Telecare, 2005. 11(7): s. 331-5.
8. May, C.R., et al., Integrating telecare for chronic disease management in the community: what needs to be done? BMC Health Serv Res, 2011. 11: s. 131.
9. Huang, Y.-C. og Y.-L. Hsu, Social networking-based personal home telehealth system: A pilot study. Journal of Clinical Gerontology and Geriatrics. 5(4): s. 132-139.
10. Commission, E., Code of Conduct on privacy for mHealth apps has been finalised, in Digital Single Market: Digital Economy & Society. 2016: https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/news/code-conduct-privacy-mhealth-apps-has-been-finalised.
11. Thilakanathan, D., R.A. Calvo, og S. Chen, Facilitating Secure Sharing of Personal Health Data in the Cloud. 2016. 4(2): s. e15.
12. Ehrler, F.e.a. A comparison of four models: use of patient-generated mHealth data for patient care. Swiss Medical Informatics, 2016. 32.
13. Research2guidance, mHealth App Developer Economics 2015: The current status and trends of the mHealth app market, in mHealth Economics Research Program. 2015: Research2Guidance.com.
14. Diasend. 2015 [sitert 2015 25/09]; Tilgjengelig fra: https://www.diasend.com/no/.
15. Healthcare Equipment and Supplies: Company Overview of Glooko, Inc. 2015, Bloomberg L.P.: Bloomberg Business.
16. Dexcom Inc (DXCM) Details. 2015 [sitert 2015 25/09]; Tilgjengelig fra: http://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot.asp?ticker=DXCM.
17. Siwicki, B. Duke liberates Epic EHR data with Apple HealthKit and FHIR: Director of mobile technology strategy Ricky Bloomfield to discuss integration benefits at HIMSS16. 2016.