Like all data, patient-generated health data “may be at risk for security breaches that could affect the integrity of the data and expose the data to access for malicious purposes because they are not subject to the same security regulatory framework as HIPAA-regulated entities,” the ONC report stated. “Concerns include insecure points of data collection and insecure data movement that potentially expose the device or the clinician’s information system to pollutants, such as malware.”
The ONC report also identified several opportunities patient-generated health data provides for improving health, such as showing a more holistic picture of a patient’s health over time; strengthening the patient-physician relationship by creating an individualized care plan; and giving researchers access to a larger pool of data.
Aside from concern about security breaches, the ONC noted other challenges. Among them: practices may lack the technical infrastructure and workforce capacity to integrate patient-generated health data into functional workflows; liability concerns about using potentially inaccurate data in clinical decisions; and some patients’ limited access to smartphones and broadband internet.
EHRs purchased or upgraded in 2019 will include the capability to capture patient-generated health data, the AMA said. Physicians should ask their EHR vendors to provide comprehensive education on this new feature, and EHR vendors should provide best practices on using patient-generated health data.
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