Recommendations for the Quality Management of Patient-Generated Health Data in Remote Patient Monitoring: Mixed Methods Study

Abstract

Background Patient-generated health data (PGHD) collected from innovative wearables are enabling health care to shift to outside clinical settings through remote patient monitoring (RPM) initiatives. However, PGHD are collected continuously under the patient’s responsibility in rapidly changing circumstances during the patient’s daily life. This poses risks to the quality of PGHD and, in turn, reduces their trustworthiness and fitness for use in clinical practice. Objective Using a sociotechnical health informatics lens, we developed a data quality management (DQM) guideline for PGHD captured from wearable devices used in RPM with the objective of investigating how DQM principles can be applied to ensure that PGHD can reliably inform clinical decision-making in RPM. Methods First, clinicians, health information specialists, and MedTech industry representatives with experience in RPM were interviewed to identify DQM challenges. Second, these stakeholder groups were joined by patient representatives in a workshop to co-design potential solutions to meet the expectations of all the stakeholders. Third, the findings, along with the literature and policy review results, were interpreted to construct a guideline. Finally, we validated the guideline through a Delphi survey of international health informatics and health information management experts. Results The guideline constructed in this study comprised 19 recommendations across 7 aspects of DQM. It explicitly addressed the needs of patients and clinicians but implied that there must be collaboration among all stakeholders to meet these needs. Conclusions The increasing proliferation of PGHD from wearables in RPM requires a systematic approach to DQM so that these data can be reliably used in clinical care. The developed guideline is an important next step toward safe RPM.

Analysis of Publications on Health Information Management Using the Science Mapping Method: A Holistic Perspective

“…Recent research has revealed that personalized healthcare is increasingly prevalent [75,76]. Therefore, it is crucial to re-evaluate management procedures for processing patient-generated data of a high quality.…”

“…The themes of HISs and technology adoption frequently centers on the effective management strategies and adoption of novel technologies. Recent studies highlight the rapid acceleration of technology adoption, necessitating the revision of management strategies [75,76]. Previous themes may relate to broader work on technology adoption.…”

Large-scale real-life implementation of technology-enabled care to maximize hospitals' medical surge preparedness during future infectious disease outbreaks and winter seasons: a viewpoint

“…This poses risks to the quality of PGHD and, in turn, reduces their trustworthiness and fitness for use in clinical practice. Recently a guideline was developed describing a systemic approach to data quality management of PGHD so that these data can be reliably used in clinical care ( 74 ). In the future, special attention should be given to the cost-effectiveness of such models and their sustainability.…”

Attitudes and perspectives of nurses and physicians in South Korea towards the clinical use of person-generated health data

“…The adoption of mobile apps and wearable devices with sensor technologies has rapidly increased in the healthcare field. 1 , 2 Health apps provide patients with a streamlined means of collecting their health data outside the clinical environment and enable the collection of large amounts of person-generated health data (PGHD) through the activities of daily living. 3 , 4 As reported by Research2Guidance, more than 259,000 mobile health apps are available in online app stores.…”