Patient generated health data use in clinical practice: A systematic review

Precision health calls for collecting and analyzing large amounts of data to capture an individual's unique behavior, lifestyle, genetics, and environmental context. The diffusion of digital tools has led to a significant growth of patient generated health data (PGHD), defined as health-related data created, gathered or inferred by or from patients and for which the patient controls data collection and data sharing.

We assessed the current evidence of the impact of PGHD use in clinical practice and provide recommendations for the formal integration of PGHD in clinical care.

We searched PubMed, Ovid, Embase, CINAHL, Web of Science, and Scopus up to May 2018. Inclusion criteria were applied and four reviewers screened titles and abstracts and consequently full articles.

Our systematic literature review identified 21 studies that examined the use of PGHD in clinical settings. Integration of PGHD into electronic records was extremely limited, and decision support capabilities were for the most part basic.

PGHD and other types of patient-reported data will be part of the health care system narrative and we must continue efforts to understand its impact on health outcomes, costs, and patient satisfaction. Nursing scientists need to lead the process of defining the role of PGHD in the era of precision health.