With more and more patients and consumers using wearables and health and fitness trackers, such devices hold a strong potential for an expansive database of individuals' health information.
A report in Journal of AHIMA suggests increasing interoperability between wearables and health tracking devices could help optimize personal health data by gathering and leverage the information in a research database.
However, achieving interoperability is still a key barrier to such a comprehensive database, as wearables and devices are the products of competing vendors, according to the report.
The report outlines four key areas related to interoperability to be addressed that could help optimize all forms of health data.
1. Privacy and data ownership. Researchers have found many customers of wearables indicated wanting sole or shared ownership of the data they generate on their devices. Additionally, of those individuals that agree to make their personal health data available for research, more than half would only do so if their privacy was protected. Even more, 90 percent, mentioned the importance of keeping data contributors anonymous, according to the report.
2. Informed consent. Many privacy policies of vendors are outlined on the terms and conditions contracts consumers are required to read and accept before using a device. However, the report highlights that the majority of consumers don't actually ever read those terms and conditions. "The straightforward question becomes: Does informed consent exist at all?" the report asks.
3. Data sharing and access. Online forums are garnering more attention as consumers and patients are increasingly sharing insights, asking questions and discussing medical concerns online. According to the report, "In the online health information sharing environment, the decision to share information — and to what degree — involves the same individual cognitive mental process involved in making a decision about revealing private information in an interpersonal context."
4. Data quality. Data metrics and collection techniques aren't standardized on wearables or tracking devices, calling into question the validity of such personal health data to be used in a broader clinical context, according to the report. However, the proliferation of such devices will force the industry to address issues regarding standardization and information governance, according to the report.
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