Which top 10 EHR systems should integrate wearables, and why?

Ten widely used EHR systems, Epic Systems, Cerner, Allscripts, MEDITECH, NextGen Healthcare, athenahealth, Greenway Health, eClinicalWorks, Practice Fusion, and CureMD, could benefit from integrating wearable data. Continuous heart rate, activity, and sleep data from wearables gives clinicians a view of patients between visits, supporting remote monitoring, chronic condition management, more personalized care plans, and patient engagement.

Millions of people use smartwatches, fitness trackers, and other wearable sensors, but wearable data only has impact in healthcare when it reaches the EHR systems clinicians already use. This article covers 10 EHR systems and why each should prioritize wearable integration.

Epic Systems is one of the largest and most widely used EHR systems, with an established track record of integrating health technologies, and wearables are a natural extension. Continuous wearable data, such as heart rate, activity levels, and sleep patterns, can give clinicians a more holistic view of a patient's health and support more personalized care plans.

• Continuous data for more personalized treatment plans
• Better patient monitoring outside the clinical setting
• More context for tracking chronic conditions like hypertension, diabetes, and heart disease

Cerner is another dominant EHR, known for its interface and broad compatibility with health devices, and wearable data would add continuous information to analyze alongside medical histories. Integrating wearables with Cerner would let providers see changes in a patient's data between visits and intervene earlier.

• Earlier visibility of changes in patient data
• Data-driven decisions for treatment
• Improved patient engagement through ongoing monitoring

Allscripts provides customizable EHR solutions for organizations of all sizes and already supports a variety of third-party integrations, so wearable data is a natural next step. Wearables show what happens with a patient's health outside the office visit, which can help in managing chronic conditions.

• Continuous patient monitoring outside of visits
• Better management of chronic conditions with continuous data
• Higher patient satisfaction with more frequent health tracking

MEDITECH is known for user-friendly, flexible EHR solutions, and wearable data would let its clinicians monitor patients remotely and continuously. With devices tracking blood pressure, glucose levels, and heart rate, a MEDITECH integration could give clinicians more context between visits.

• Remote patient monitoring between visits
• More consistent tracking of patients with chronic conditions
• Improved continuity of patient care

NextGen Healthcare serves practices from small offices to large health systems, and wearable integration would give its clinicians data on a patient's day-to-day health and wellness to inform treatment decisions.

• Support for preventive care through continuous data
• Improved communication between patients and providers
• Alerts that prompt providers to review a patient's data sooner

athenahealth is a cloud-based EHR designed to improve administrative and clinical workflows, and wearable data would help its clinicians adjust treatment plans based on continuous data instead of occasional readings.

• Continuous health data to inform care
• Less time spent on manual health data entry
• More proactive management of chronic conditions

Greenway Health offers comprehensive EHR solutions, and wearable data integrated into the Greenway platform would give physicians immediate access to patient-generated data for better-informed decisions and engagement.

• Better patient engagement and adherence to treatment plans
• Ongoing visibility into patient progress
• More timely decision-making

eClinicalWorks is a popular EHR already known for integrating health technologies, making wearables a logical next step. Wearable data could help eClinicalWorks users track patients' progress, extend remote monitoring, and reduce unnecessary office visits.

• Better management of chronic conditions through continuous monitoring
• Greater patient engagement through ongoing health data
• More up-to-date health records

Practice Fusion is a cloud-based EHR widely used by small to mid-sized practices, and wearable integration would let its providers access patient data collected at home. This could be particularly valuable for patients with chronic conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, and asthma, who benefit from consistent monitoring.

• Streamlined care for chronic condition management
• Data that helps patients take an active role in their health
• Fewer gaps in information between visits

CureMD is an affordable EHR with a range of patient-care features, and wearable integration would let its physicians follow patients more closely and see changes in health data earlier.

• Continuous data for more personalized care
• Greater insight into patient health between visits
• Better ability to follow key health metrics

EHRs should integrate wearables because continuous patient-generated data fills the gap between visits. The main benefits:

Improved patient monitoring: wearables provide continuous data on heart rate, sleep patterns, and activity levels that EHRs can show alongside the medical record.

Better chronic disease management: chronic conditions like diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease require ongoing management, and wearable data gives providers more signals to review between visits.

Personalized care plans: continuous data from wearables helps providers tailor care plans and treatment decisions to each patient.

Increased patient engagement: patients who see their own health data are more likely to take ownership of their wellness.

Proactive healthcare: continuous data lets providers notice when a patient's data changes and decide whether to intervene early.

Integrating wearable data with EHR systems can improve how providers follow patients, engage them, and personalize care, while making workflows more efficient. As healthcare continues to adopt digital health technologies, wearable integration is becoming a core component of modern EHRs. ROOK moves and standardizes the data; it does not diagnose or replace clinical judgment. Related: how AI connects wearable data to EHRs and the FHIR protocol for health data exchange.

To see how ROOK delivers wearable data from 72 data sources and more than 500 devices, read the ROOK developer documentation.