Accenture Federal Services has chosen Validic and Sutter Health to guide a pilot project exploring how patient-generated data can best be leveraged to improve research and healthcare. The goal is to capture information that Accenture can use to develop a research paper to inform government policy.

The pilot is the next step in Accenture’s two-year consulting contract with the ONC to help the federal government create a framework for collecting and using patient generated health data in both research and clinical care, ultimately creating national standards.

In March, Accenture conducted a survey that found patients are increasingly willing to share data from wearables and apps with providers and health plans, and many physicians have asked patients to use digital tools to track their health. But while there are a multitude of apps, wearables and clinical in-home devices that collect patient data, there still isn’t a proven method to deliver that data into the the multitude of different EHRs so that it can be quickly and efficiently used by care teams.

Accenture’s projects are part of a suite of ONC projects focused on nationwide efforts to do just that, and will work to identify impediments to wider use of PGHD in clinical care and also recommend how to remove those barriers.

The joint pilot with Validic and Sutter Health began last month, and the first population focus was Sutter Health patients with type 2 diabetes. Using Sutter’s Mpower app and Validic’s digital health platform, data is collected from various devices that measure blood glucose, blood pressure, activity and weight. The system then analyzes the data and provides visual feedback on the app, alerting care team members when necessary, and also gives patients motivational incentives to keep them on track with their care program. The Mpower program is also using Validic’s VitalSnap, an app that enables real-time data transfer from non-connected devices to health IT systems.

Earlier this year, Accenture told MobiHealthNews that this framework is an important first step towards creating standards that would make patient generated data more interoperable. For one, the firm’s goal is not just to figure out how to integrate PGHD into records, but also identify how it actually improves care.

"The key components we are looking at are best practices, gaps and challenges around PGHD being used currently," Emily Mitchell, program lead for Accenture’s PGHD initiative told MobiHealthNews at the time.  "We’re trying to help them to understand what is the environment right now? What are some of the success stories? And from those success stories, what can others leverage from them to apply to their own use of PGHD? The primary goal is to not only find out: how do they get the data into the medical record and off to the research clinic, but how do they use that data to improve patient care and improve research outcomes?"