Journal of general internal medicine
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Well-defined, systematic, and transparent processes to identify health research gaps, needs, and priorities are vital to ensuring that available funds target areas with the greatest potential for impact. ⋯ To ensure optimal targeting of funds to meet the greatest areas of need and maximize outcomes, a much more robust evidence base is needed to ascertain the effectiveness of methods used to identify research gaps, needs, and priorities.
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Well-defined, systematic, and transparent processes to identify health research gaps, needs, and priorities are vital to ensuring that available funds target areas with the greatest potential for impact. ⋯ To ensure optimal targeting of funds to meet the greatest areas of need and maximize outcomes, a much more robust evidence base is needed to ascertain the effectiveness of methods used to identify research gaps, needs, and priorities.
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Palpitations are a common symptom managed by general practitioners and cardiologists; atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common arrhythmia in adults. The recent commercial availability of smartphone-based devices and wearable technologies with arrhythmia detection capabilities has revolutionized the diagnosis and management of these common medical issues, as it has placed the power of arrhythmia detection into the hands of the patient. Numerous mobile health (mHealth) devices that can detect, record, and automatically interpret irregularities in heart rhythm and abrupt changes in heart rate using photoplethysmography (PPG)- and electrocardiogram-based technologies are now commercially available. ⋯ Although several devices have received clearance for AF detection from the United States Food & Drug Administration, limitations include the need for ECG confirmation for arrhythmias detected by PPG alone, false positives, false negatives, charging requirements for the battery, and financial cost. In summary, the growth of commercially available devices for remote, patient-facing rhythm monitoring represents an exciting new opportunity in the care of patients with palpitations and known or suspected dysrhythmias. Physicians should be familiar with the evidence that underlies their added value to patient care and, importantly, their current limitations.