2. Better systems for managing patient generated data
[The] VA is anticipating the exponential growth of patient-generated data as mobile health becomes more popular. We have spent a lot of time thinking through how to incorporate and manage that influx of data.
One key element of this is to keep in mind that the point of patient-generated data is not just to collect data for the sake of data. Rather, patient-generated data should be something that gives both patients and providers a larger, holistic view of the patient’s day-to-day, overall health. Patient-generated data really finds its value when it becomes information that can better enable healthcare decision-making or drive patient behavior change. [The] VA is working hard to determine how best to manage this new data stream and to present it in a meaningful way to both patients and their healthcare providers – through mobile and web applications, and through the electronic health record.
3. Increased integration into the clinician workflow
Healthcare providers are increasingly interested in utilizing their mobile devices in the direct delivery of patient care, particularly when doing so improves their workflow or allows them to have more meaningful interaction with their patients. mHealth applications, meant for use by providers, need to be carefully designed with these requirements in mind.
As we have developed mHealth apps at the VA, it has proven vitally important to involve the target audiences in the development of the functionality of the apps; this includes not only patients and their caregivers, but also VA providers.
[The] VA’s engagement with mobile health began with a pilot in 2011 targeted at providers. That initial pilot was our first effort at developing mobile apps that connected back to the electronic health record. We will soon be launching a second, larger provider pilot to test apps that will give providers more robust access to electronic health record data on the go. Further, these apps will also soon enable the provider to enter information into the electronic health record, not just review it. The apps will also foster improved secure communications and messaging. Results from the pilot will provide ongoing feedback on the best ways to deliver clinical data, both patient-generated and healthcare team generated, via a mobile platform and optimize it to fit clinician workflows.
Neil C. Evans, MD is a board-certified, practicing primary care internist at the Washington, D.C. Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC) and the Co-Director of Connected Health, aligned under the Office of Informatics and Analytics, in the Veterans Health Administration within the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
About Dr. Evans
Dr. Evans and fellow Co-Director Kathleen L. Frisbee, PhDc, MPH (Program Director) lead the effort to improve services to Veterans, their families and Caregivers by increasing access, fostering continuity and promoting patient empowerment through electronic health technologies. They oversee the development and implementation of enterprise-wide Veteran digital health strategies, which will transform care delivery across the care continuum and geography, and facilitates alignment of health information technologies within VHA to produce a consistent experience for users and continuously improve based on user input, research and evaluation.
Image credit: VA Mobile Health
