Online Program

Comparative effectiveness research combining diverse data: advances in methods and infrastructure

*Erin C Holve, AcademyHealth 

Keywords: Governance, Comparative Effectiveness Research, Patient Centered Outcomes Research, Learning Health System, Causal inference

Recent support to build infrastructure and accelerate progress towards a learning health system has resulted in significant advances in governance, informatics, and methodological approaches to achieve rapid-cycle learning that can improve patient outcomes. Dr. Holve will discuss lessons from the AHRQ-sponsored Electronic Data Methods (EDM) Forum - a collaborative learning community that brings together eleven multi-site comparative effectiveness research (CER) and quality improvement (QI) networks using electronic clinical data (e.g. data from electronic health records and other sources).

A published framework of challenges and opportunities for projects to address the challenges of traditional study designs (RCTs and observational studies) and data sources (administrative data and data from the EHR) will be discussed. A relevant series of case examples from the networks will be presented to demonstrate promising technical and non-technical approaches to respond to aspects of the challenge framework. Issues of standardization and data quality control, as well as strategies to ensure the privacy of protected health information and ongoing engagement of relevant communities will also be reviewed. The examples provided from the eleven PROSPECT, Distributed Research, and Enhanced Registry projects participating in the EDM Forum illustrate current thinking about how to structure data sharing and maximize the value of electronic clinical data to facilitate the relevant, rigorous, and rapid analysis envisioned in learning systems capable of improving patient outcomes.