You’re Already Monitoring Your Health Data; Here’s Tips on Sharing it with Your Doctor

Many Americans use self-monitoring technology such as pedometers, continuous glucose monitors, heart rate monitors and home blood pressure machines. In fact, Informa Tech Target reports that roughly 40 percent of American adults use healthcare-related apps and 35 percent are wearing devices — 92 percent of smartwatch users use their device specifically to track health data, according to study published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Biometric data can help you track steps, determine your heart rate while you’re exercising and even give you insight into how eating a banana impacts your blood glucose level. But should you be sharing that data with your doctor?

The right wearable technology can help a doctor detect and diagnose certain conditions, like heart disease and type 2 diabetes; and it can help doctors help their patient manage those conditions. Other devices can help your doctor determine how much exercise you’re getting and whether it’s enough.

But little of this data is actually being shared with doctors. A survey of 1,008 people found that two-thirds of them use a device regularly that tracks some aspect of their health, but only 25 percent of the device users share the information with their doctor, according to The Ohio State Wexner Medical Center.

What Types of Data Can You Track?

There are numerous devices that can help you. Here are a few examples.

• Wearable technologies (e.g., smartwatch, Fitbit, Oura Ring, Garmin, WHOOP) – measure variables such as heart rate, blood pressure, sleep minutes, calories, oxygen saturation and heart rhythm, depending on device type and model. WHOOP and Garmin are niche brands that cater to athletes and fitness enthusiasts.
• Smartphone – measures health data when used in conjunction with wearable technologies and downloadable applications (apps); many can also be used as a pedometer.
• Smart scale – measures body weight and may provide a body composition estimate via bioelectrical impedance analysis and Bluetooth technology.  
• Home blood pressure machines – measure blood pressure. The accuracy of the machines can vary based on the quality of the machine and the operator’s skill level.
• Continuous glucose monitors (CGM) – measure blood glucose levels. Type 1 or type 2 insulin-dependent diabetics are often prescribed a CGM as part of their treatment plan. However, people with non-insulin dependent diabetes, insulin resistant or simply concerned about their blood sugar levels can purchase a CGM. Some brands sell an over-the-counter device. But keep in mind, there’s little evidence that CGMs benefit those without insulin-dependent diabetes. Talk to your doctor before investing in one.
• Heart rate monitors – measure heart rate. They’re very helpful if you want to monitor your heart rate while exercising and/or sleeping. You can buy a heart rate monitor, but they’re often included as a feature of wearable technology.
• Pedometers – counts the number of steps you take. You can buy a pedometer, a small beeper-sized device that sits on your waist, but they’re often included as a feature of wearable technology.
• Sleep monitors – can track sleep duration, quality, phases, environmental factors and lifestyle habits that can affect sleep such as stress level, caffeine intake and when you've eaten. 

Before You Share

“If you’re interested in collecting and sharing biometric data, talk to your doctor about which variables are the most valuable and what they’re interested in seeing,” says Dr. Andrea Klemes, chief medical officer of MDVIP.

If you don’t have diabetes, your doctor may not be interested in data from a CGM. If you’ve never had cardiovascular issues, your heart rate data may not be important – or the device you use to monitor it may not produce the kind of information your doctor can use.

“I think patients hesitate to have this conversation with their physician because some doctors question the validity of this type of data, which I understand. But the data also might show patterns and anomalies, your doctor will find helpful,” Dr. Klemes says. “It’s also important to discuss with your doctor how they would like data organized and shared.”

How to Share Data with Your Doctor

Sharing data with your doctor might be easier than you think. Hard data can be written (or typed) on a form such as this one created by Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Food diaries and sleep logs work in the same manner.

With electronic data, you could take the same approach -- manually writing the data collected by your device onto a diary or log. If you’d rather export the data, search for data exporting instructions for your specific device. For example, if you own a Garmin, follow these instructions. Have an Apple Watch? Check out this instructional video.  

Your device manufacturer may also have easy tools to share data or output it in user-friendly graphs that can make sharing with your doctor easier.

“Overall, tracking and sharing data with your primary care doctor can provide them with more information on blood pressure, heart rate and sleep patterns, which may help them help you better manage heart- and vascular-related conditions like atrial fibrillation, sleep apnea,” Klemes says. “Think of the data as extra pieces of a puzzle.”

Don’t have a primary care physician? Consider joining an MDVIP-affiliated practice. MDVIP-affiliated physicians have more time to help you in your pursuit of a healthier lifestyle. Find a physician near you and begin your partnership in health »