This case study features a nationwide research study that wished to leverage MyDataHelps Electronic Health Record (EHR) connectivity within its existing patient portal.
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MyDataHelps enables access to patient EHR data from health providers, payers, and health devices like Fitbit. This case uses MyDataHelps Embeddables to take advantage of patient-mediated EHR connectivity and data services within a pre-existing patient portal. Their users never need to create a MyDataHelps account or interact with MyDataHelps apps directly.
Integrating the MyDataHelps EHR connectivity with the patient portal involves three steps:
Since the patient portal has an existing user account system, it is not desirable for users to register separate accounts with MyDataHelps. Instead, the organization uses the MyDataHelps REST API to automatically create a MyDataHelps participant entity corresponding to each application user. This participant acts as a surrogate for the application user when using MyDataHelps features. All EHR data will be associated with the user’s corresponding MyDataHelps participant.
Users have the choice of whether to utilize the EHR integration, so it is not necessary to create MyDataHelps participants for every user in advance. Only when they chose to activate the EHR integration does the application create their participant.
See MyDataHelps Embeddables for more information about automated participant management using the MyDataHelps REST API.
The next step is allowing the user to initiate a connection to an EHR provider. Once this connection is established, MyDataHelps can retrieve EHR data from the provider on the user’s behalf, and associate that data with their MyDataHelps participant.
To do this, the organization incorporates the MyDataHelps SDK into the patient portal as described in MyDataHelps Embeddables.
The steps to initiate the EHR connection are:
The SDK methods used in the above steps are SDK-specific. See the JavaScript SDK and iOS SDK topics for details.
The following example illustrates this process using the JavaScript SDK methods.
Patient access to an EHR provider can be granted for a limited duration. If access to the EHR provider expires, the client application must prompt the user to repeat the authorization process. Any EHR data previously retrieved will continue to be associated with the MyDataHelps participant after EHR provider authorization expires, but new data after authorization expiration will not be accessible.
To see whether an EHR provider needs to be reauthorized, look for a status of Unauthorized
in the participant’s list of connected accounts, available through the SDK. You may also wish to create a Segment for participants (using the Linked Account filter criteria Status:Needs Reconnect
) to send these participants automated messages about their linked account status.
Once the EHR connection is established, the client app can offer several management features through the MyDataHelps SDK, including:
The SDK methods used in the above steps are SDK-specific. See the JavaScript SDK and iOS SDK topics for details.
Once an EHR provider is connected to a participant, MyDataHelps will periodically retrieve EHR data and store it. This will continue until either the connection is deleted or authorization access has expired.
EHR data is available to the organization through scheduled data exports. These exports can be transferred to your SFTP server or viewed within the MyDataHelps Designer. See EHR Export for details. The export files are also available through the MyDataHelps REST API.
Although dynamic display of EHR data is not currently supported through the API/SDK, MyDataHelps does offer a pre-built health and wellness dashboard that can be embedded in your application. Contact us for more information.
Although a participant can connect their Fitbit account using the same mechanism as they would an EHR, Fitbit data has separate export files, and is also available to query via the MyDataHelps REST API.
Several things need to be set up in the MyDataHelps project for all of this to work.