Patient-Generated Data Fuels Population Health Management

Compiled by Neil Versel, Contributing Writer

Think patient-generated data offers little clinical value? Think again. Palo Alto Medical Foundation is incorporating this data into its care plans, and it’s having a powerful impact on population health.

A decade ago, not long after the newly established Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology started touting population health management as a major benefit of electronic health records, Sutter Health affiliate Palo Alto Medical Foundation (PAMF) recognized that it would have to start paying closer attention to the health of populations.

Ten years later, population health management is a central part of PAMF’s strategy. The organization has realized that people who make proper lifestyle choices are less likely to develop chronic diseases and more likely to control the conditions they already have. Since most of this happens far away from the doctor’s office, PAMF has been experimenting with home-based patient monitors and fitness trackers and learning how to manage all the data these gadgets produce.