Delivering Health Data Effectively

Validic https://validic.com and Sutter Health www.sutterhealth.org are collaborating on a federal pilot project to determine how Patient-Generated Health Data (PGHD) can be effectively delivered to care teams and researchers to improve the outcomes of their patients.

In healthcare today, many mobile applications, wearables, and clinical in-home devices can collect patient data remotely to manage chronic diseases. For example, by monitoring daily blood sugar and blood pressure levels, care teams have the potential to identify alarming readings in real-time, enabling the care teams to take immediate action with patients.

However, a proven method is needed to deliver PGHD into EHRs or to a clinical dashboard so care teams can use the information effectively. Such a connection could tighten the bond between care teams and patients which will lead to fewer emergency department visits or hospitalizations.

The joint pilot demonstration in September began working with Sutter Health’s patients with Type II diabetes. Patients received Sutter’s Mpower app on their smartphones. Using Validic’s digital health platform for data connectivity, the Mpower app has the capability to securely connect to various devices that can measure blood glucose, blood pressure, level of activity and weight.

The system then interprets the information and provides visual feedback and motivational incentives to keep patients on track with their care program, while also alerting care teams when attention is required.

The Mpower program is also using Validic’s VitalSnap™ which enables patients to capture and share information from analog in-home medical devices that are not easily connected to care teams. VitalSnap lets users capture readings via a smartphone camera. Digital versions of the readings are sent to the Validic cloud, which can be accessed by Sutter providers and researchers.