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Our research commentary, published in Medical Design briefs, examines the workflow and other challenges of adopting new digital health technologies.
Digital technology moves fast. It seems there’s always an update with new features for your smartphone. The same is true in healthcare. As digital technology gets faster, hardware, apps, and wearable devices are helping more people understand and improve their health.
Yet, the pace of change can be a challenge for resource-constrained health systems because we require significant safety data before adopting any new practices. It’s worth considering what digital health technology means for patients and providers.
We’ve published a research commentary in Medical Design Briefs. It examines the speed with which healthcare systems across the country adopt technologies. Consider the example of maternal health. Remote self-monitoring of blood pressure helps keep patients safer—but there are workflow challenges with receiving and responding to this large increase in data that can strain limited resources.
How remote blood pressure monitoring can save mothers’ lives.
Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy are among the leading causes of death and illness for new mothers. They impact about 15% of women in the U.S. High blood pressure is one key sign of these disorders. Spotting it early can prevent serious complications such as preeclampsia, eclampsia, stroke, and long-term heart problems.
To address this risk, we partnered with a Washington, D.C.-based technology firm that developed a smartphone app called BabyScripts. The app helps mothers check their blood pressure at home and upload the results to their MedStar Health care team. That way, we can identify issues before they become serious.
Between January 1 and December 31, 2023, 741 birthing individuals were invited to use the BabyScripts app. In all, users completed 12,537 sessions and 47,480 hours on the platform.
During this period, participants uploaded 8,500 blood pressure readings in the weeks before delivery. Of these, 634 were considered “abnormal,” and 8.4% were “critical.” During the postpartum period, 16% of blood pressure fell into the critical range.
This data can be lifesaving. Getting home-based blood pressure measurements allows our providers to help before an emergency happens. It also reduces the number of visits pregnant people need to make to the clinic, many of which are just for blood pressure checks.
BabyScripts have been a game-changer for maternal health. The result is better, more convenient care for our patients. But this new part of how we do our jobs comes with change, which is often challenging for people and systems. As digital technology becomes more common in health care, it’s also worth considering the impact of staffing and workflow.
Related reading: Technology Supports Maternal Health with Remote Blood Pressure Monitoring.
Challenges of new technologies.
One potential barrier to adopting new digital health technologies is how much data a platform like BabyScripts can generate.
A provider had to respond to each of the 634 abnormal blood pressure readings logged in 2023. Instead of a single blood pressure check during an in-clinic visit, providers must respond to blood pressure readings continuously at the time a patient takes their blood pressure. As a result, there’s an increased stream of information.
Without consideration and planning, this might strain already limited staffing resources, challenge tight schedules, and increase unscheduled patient assessments. To make the best use of this data, information systems must be able to communicate together, and we need to plan for the ways technology changes workflows.
Related reading: Research: Machine Learning Can Identify Maternal Heart Disease Risk Earlier in Pregnancy.
The future of digital healthcare is bright.
Digital technologies can do great things to improve patient care. Easier ways to monitor your health, earlier detection of problems, more time spent with your doctor, and personalized care delivered from home are all improvements that have already arrived or will soon.
To realize these benefits when a health system invests in new technology, health systems like ours must consider how adopting new technologies changes care delivery.
For digital health to make a real difference in patient care, it means ensuring digital tools fit seamlessly into existing systems, including the daily routines of care providers and support staff. This may entail more investment upfront before benefits are realized downstream. Training for care teams, education for patients, and ensuring integration with existing systems can give new digital health technologies the best chance of success.
