A Method for Enabling Digital Health Technologies in Clinical and Translational Research at an Academic Medical...

Area of Science:

• Health Informatics
• Clinical Research
• Digital Health Technologies

Background:

• Rapid growth in digital health technologies (DHTs) like apps and wearables necessitates updated governance and oversight.
• Existing frameworks often focus on individual DHTs, lacking guidance for multiple DHT implementation at academic medical centers (AMCs).

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate a novel instrument for assessing and supporting the implementation of multiple DHTs within an AMC setting.
• To address the need for scalable institutional support for DHTs in clinical and translational research.

Main Methods:

• A multi-disciplinary team (IT, IRB, legal, privacy) identified 33 critical evaluation items.
• The instrument was applied over one year to review 98 requests for DHT use in research and non-research activities at an AMC.

Main Results:

• The 33-item instrument was successfully applied to a significant number of DHT research requests (93).
• The evaluation process facilitated the review and onboarding of diverse DHT applications.

Conclusions:

• The developed 33-item instrument provides a valuable tool for researchers and practitioners.
• This instrument can help other institutions scale their support for the integration of multiple DHTs in research.