Patient-Generated health data: The high-tech high-touch approach: Where technology meets healthcare – A narrative review

Abstract

Patient-generated health data are a promising arena that can create a revolutionary change in the field of healthcare. Although a lot has been done globally to incorporate the information and data directly from the patient for their benefit, patient-generated health data (PGHD) remains a nascent area for the stakeholders including the clients themselves as well as the healthcare professionals and the system itself. This narrative review aims to familiarise the readers with the concept of PGHD, the strategies utilised by key organisations across the globe and to make them cognizant of the challenges and potential hurdles in the implementation and amalgamation of PGHD into the healthcare system. With the advancement in information technologies, artificial intelligence and remarkably evolving software, it has become easy to access health-related data such as heart rate, blood pressure, pulse oximetry and even electrocardiograms at the comfort of our homes with the touch of a button. The easy availability and affordability of smartphones for most of the population have led to the blooming of the wearable device industry, and there is a surge of primary health-related data overflowing around us everywhere. Proper utilisation of this deluge of data in the form of PGHD can reduce the healthcare cost and burden of care, especially in developing countries by improving the patient–provider interactions and bridging the existing information gaps. PGHD plays a significant role in health promotion also by supporting self-management activities such as healthy eating and exercise. In this modern era of precision health with comprehensive veracity, it becomes essential that researchers and healthcare professionals should lead from the front in the amalgamation of PGHD into healthcare.