The Use of Mobile Personal Health Records for Hemoglobin A1c Regulation in Patients With Diabetes: Retrospective Observational Study

Background: The effectiveness of personal health records (PHRs) in diabetes management has already been verified in several clinical trials; however, evidence of their effectiveness in real-world scenarios is also necessary. To provide solid real-world evidence, an analysis that is more accurate than the analyses solely based on patient-generated health data should be conducted. Objective: This study aimed to conduct a more accurate analysis of the effectiveness of using PHRs within electronic medical records (EMRs). The results of this study will provide precise real-world evidence of PHRs as a feasible diabetes management tool. Methods: We collected log data of the sugar function in the My Chart in My Hand version 2.0 (MCMH 2.0) app from Asan Medical Center (AMC), Seoul, Republic of Korea, between December 2015 and April 2018. The EMR data of MCMH 2.0 users from AMC were collected and integrated with the PHR data. We classified users according to whether they were continuous app users. We analyzed and compared their characteristics, patterns of hemoglobin A(1c) (HbA(1c)) levels, and the proportion of successful HbA(1c) control. The following confounders were adjusted for HbA(1c) pattern analysis and HbA(1c) regulation proportion comparison: age, sex, first HbA(1c) measurement, diabetes complications severity index score, sugar function data generation weeks, HbA(1c) measurement weeks before MCMH 2.0 start, and generated sugar function data count. Results: The total number of MCMH 2.0 users was 64,932, with 7453 users having appropriate PHRs and diabetes criteria. The number of continuous and noncontinuous users was 133 and 7320, respectively. Compared with noncontinuous users, continuous users were younger (P<.001) and had a higher male proportion (P<.001). Furthermore, continuous users had more frequent HbA(1c) measurements (P=.007), shorter HbA(1c) measurement days (P=.04), and a shorter period between the first HbA(1c) measurement and MCMH 2.0 start (P<.001). Diabetes severity-related factors were not statistically significantly different between the two groups. Continuous users had a higher decrease in HbA(1c) (P=.02) and a higher proportion of regulation of HbA(1c) levels to the target level (P=.01). After adjusting the confounders, continuous users had more decline in HbA(1c) levels than noncontinuous users (P=.047). Of the users who had a first HbA(1c) measurement higher than 6.5% (111 continuous users and 5716 noncontinuous users), continuous users had better regulation of HbA(1c) levels with regard to the target level, 6.5%, which was statistically significant (P=.04). Conclusions: By integrating and analyzing patient- and clinically generated data, we demonstrated that the continuous use of PHRs improved diabetes management outcomes. In addition, the HbA(1c) reduction pattern was prominent in the PHR continuous user group. Although the continued use of PHRs has proven to be effective in managing diabetes, further evaluation of its effectiveness for various diseases and a study on PHR adherence are also required.