Secondary care provider attitudes towards patient generated health data from smartwatches

• Main Authors: Jordan M. Alpert, Todd Manini, Megan Roberts, Naga S. Prabhakar Kota, Tonatiuh V. Mendoza, Laurence M. Solberg, Parisa Rashidi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Nature Publishing Group 2020-03-01
• Series: npj Digital Medicine
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41746-020-0236-4

Abstract Wearable devices, like smartwatches, are increasingly used for tracking physical activity, community mobility, and monitoring symptoms. Data generated from smartwatches (PGHD_SW) is a form of patient-generated health data, which can benefit providers by supplying frequent temporal information about patients. The goal of this study was to understand providers’ perceptions towards PGHD_SW adoption and its integration with electronic medical records. In-depth, semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with 12 providers from internal medicine, family medicine, geriatric medicine, nursing, surgery, rehabilitation, and anesthesiology. Diffusion of Innovations was used as a framework to develop questions and guide data analysis. The constant comparative method was utilized to formulate salient themes from the interviews. Four main themes emerged: (1) PGHD_SW is perceived as a relative advantage; (2) data are viewed as compatible with current practices; (3) barriers to overcome to effectively use PGHD_SW; (4) assessments from viewing sample data. Overall, PGHD_SW was valued because it enabled access to information about patients that were traditionally unattainable. It also can initiate discussions between patients and providers. Providers consider PGHD_SW important, but data preferences varied by specialty. The successful adoption of PGHD_SW will depend on tailoring data, frequencies of reports, and visualization preferences to correspond with the demands of providers.