With Apple's HealthKit showing up in pilots and projects at health systems across the country, there's been a lot of debate around how patient-generated data can and should be used. The general consensus is that this data needs to be managed carefully – as do the patients from which it comes.
With that in mind, Morris Panner, the CEO of DICOM Grid, a Phoenix, Ariz.-based developer of online medical image management services, offers these five tips for healthcare providers in leveraging HealthKit data:
1. Good housekeeping. Make sure you implement appropriate security and compliance systems. Know who is getting access and on what terms. This is good practice, says Panner, since as healthcare networks become increasingly far-flung and even virtual - think telemedicine - these types of platforms will become more common.
2. Opt-in policies. If you're sponsoring programs, you should make sure consumers can have the choice to opt in. People need to be clear about when they are agreeing to share information, Panner says. The programs certainly have the potential to be very valuable, but not everyone feels comfortable with the trade-offs between privacy and enhanced insight into health conditions.
3. Make this a patient engagement opportunity. Every healthcare system is looking for better ways to engage with consumers, both before and after the become patients. And as billing models shift, and consumers begin to take more control over how they spend for health services, it's more important than ever to ensure that the healthcare system and the population are working together to stay healthy.
4. Review patient portal strategies. For most health systems, the patient portal is literally a portal into a more personal relationship with the patient. Up until now, Panner says, those portals have mostly focused on collecting lab results and have largely been retrospective. With platforms like HealthKit, there's an opportunity to refresh that strategy and build a forward-looking portal in which patients and healthcare providers can collaborate on care and prevent problems before they start.
5. Think big on patient information. Now that you're thinking about new forms of patient engagement, Panner says, there is an opportunity to look at different forms of patient information. For example, diagnostic imaging used to be hidden behind the silo of PACS or limited to CD transfer. All that has changed with innovative new image exchange software packages. For patients with chronic conditions or trauma cases, the rapid exchange of images can literally be a life-saver.
