Your Patient Has a New Health App? Start With Its Data Source.

Recent regulatory and technological advances have enabled a new era of health apps that are controlled by patients and contain valuable health information. These health apps will be numerous and use novel interfaces that appeal to patients but will likely be unfamiliar to practitioners. We posit that understanding the origin of the health data is the most meaningful and versatile way for physicians to understand and effectively use these apps in patient care. This will allow providers to better support patients and encourage patient engagement in their own care.