Optimizing the Integration of Health Apps with the Electronic Health Record by Quantifying Data Readiness and Interoperability

Abstract

Health apps are emerging as useful tools with the potential to deliver powerful health interventions, conduct research, and improve patient involvement in their care. While the development of health apps is gaining momentum, the ability to integrate these apps with electronic health records (EHRs) is limited, decreasing their potential impact on patient outcomes. Data exchange standards can facilitate the exchange of data between apps and EHRs, but these standards are not yet complete and will require collaboration, work, and time to be finalized and adopted. Prioritization of data standards development areas (that address health system needs and app requirements) and tools to assess the readiness of current EHR data will speed the integration of health apps with EHR systems. This dissertation 1) addresses priority areas for the development of data exchange standards, and 2) provides insights for health systems and app developers to assess for the readiness of apps to be implemented with a given EHR system in its current state. The products of this dissertation provide a framework to assess EHR data readiness for apps, outline priority areas to be developed in the United States Core Data for Interoperability standards specifications, and explore the associations between quantifiable characteristics of health apps and implementation feasibility.