How patient-generated health data and patient-reported outcomes affect patient–clinician relationships: A systematic review

Introduction: Many patients use mobile devices to track health conditions by recording patient-generated health data. However, patients and clinicians may disagree how to use these data. Objective: To systematically review the literature to identify how patient-generated health data and patient-reported outcomes collected outside of clinical settings can affect patient–clinician relationships within surgery and primary care. Methods: Six research databases were queried for publications documenting the effect of patient-generated health data or patient-reported outcomes on patient–clinician relationships. We conducted thematic synthesis of the results of the included publications. Results: Thirteen of the 3204 identified publications were included for synthesis. Three main themes were identified: patient-generated health data supported patient–clinician communication and health awareness, patients desired for their clinicians to be involved with their patient-generated health data, which clinicians had difficulty accommodating, and patient-generated health data platform features may support or hinder patient–clinician collaboration. Conclusion: Patient-generated health data and patient-reported outcomes may improve patient health awareness and communication with clinicians but may negatively affect patient–clinician relationships.