In 2004 at 60 years old, Michael was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes.
 
Michael is a patient of the Palo Alto Medical Foundation within Sutter Health. He is currently enrolled in a pilot demonstration Validic and Sutter Health are conducting to identify best practices, policies and workflows for implementing PGHD into the healthcare system.
 
The diabetes-focused pilot demonstration is part of a recently announced contract with Accenture Federal Services funded by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC). The goal of the pilot demonstration, which began in September and runs through mid-2017, is to determine how patient-generated health data (PGHD) can best be delivered to clinicians and researchers to improve patient care and outcomes.
 
Over a month into the program, Michael has lost 14 pounds and says he is just getting started. “This program is one that is designed to increase my structure and accountability, and I am someone that needs a lot of structure and accountability,” Michael said. And, his care manager is working with him to provide just that.
 
The program requires Michael to take blood glucose readings at least three times a day, usually around meals. “Taking many readings is important to me, not just to give feedback to my healthcare team, but to give me immediate feedback as to when I need to make an intervention with my blood sugar.”
 
Participating patients receive Sutter’s Mpower (Motivating Patients Online with Enhanced Resources) app on their smartphone. They also use a connected scale, a legacy blood glucose meter, and in Michael’s case, a blood pressure monitor to help monitor the effect of the program on his kidney function.
 
Using Validic’s digital health platform to provide data connectivity, the Mpower app provides easy and secure connections for patients to connect their devices. Those readings for blood glucose, blood pressure, level of activity and weight are then interpreted and provided as visual feedback to patients along with motivational incentives to keep them engaged. The information is also provided in a clinical dashboard to help care teams better manage patients, alerting them when attention or intervention is required, the patient is adhering and okay, or further education may be necessary. 
 
The Mpower program is also utilizing Validic’s VitalSnap™ as part of their Mpower app. The VitalSnap technology enables patients to capture and share information from non-connected or “dumb” medical devices via the camera on their smartphone. Digital versions of readings are created using optical character recognition technology. The patient simply holds their phone’s camera over the device screen and in seconds, the reading is digitized and able to be viewed by the care provider. “That usually takes me about 30 to 40 seconds to do all of that. It’s a lot of fun. I actually enjoy it. And, my care manager has been telling me she is able to click on it and see what I have been doing for the last day, two days, three days, four days.”
 
For Michael, this program enables a lifestyle change rather than a temporary diet. “Yesterday, after being with the program the whole day, there was some left over popcorn from my nephew that my wife had gotten, and I had about two cups of it. And, this morning was the first morning that my blood sugar was above 135 in several weeks. It was 151, so I know that was the popcorn.” Michael is able to see an immediate impact of particular foods on his blood sugar.
 
Prior to the program, Michael was going to the clinic to meet with his doctor every week. “She wanted me to get into a healthier approach to setting goals.” After several weeks and showing success in managing his weight and condition, Michael’s physician amended the visits to once every three months. She, along with the care team, will continue to manage his care and condition providing personal support and accountability remotely throughout the duration of this pilot.