In-Depth: How Patient Generated Health Data Is Evolving Into One Of Healthcare’s Biggest Trends

What patient generated data used to be and why it is increasingly important

Up until very recently most people have had only one source for the information they could share with their doctors during a visit: How they felt. Observable symptoms, self-reported healthy and unhealthy behaviors, medical conditions or issues that other physicians had diagnosed them with previously — those were among the few types of patient generated data before the advent and wide availability of consumer medical devices. While thermometers, weight scales, blood pressure monitors, and glucose meters are on the shortlist of medical devices patients have used at home for decades, today home diagnostic devices, medical sensors and other biometric monitors have proliferated.

At a recent healthcare-focused media event called Voice of the Body, Samsung announced a handful of projects that aimed to help consumers better track and manage their own health through wristworn, multi-parameter vital sign tracking devices. The tech company’s (typically hyped up) event kicked off with an introductory video that framed the current transition underway for patient generated health data...