Collecting And Sharing Data For Population Health: A New Paradigm

Abstract

Health information technology (IT) has great potential to transform health care and inform population health goals in clinical research, quality measurement, and public safety. To fully realize the benefits of health IT for population health, we must focus on new models that maximize efficiency, encourage rapid learning, and protect patients' privacy. In this paper we explore the advantages of a networked model for analyzing population health information, providing several examples. Although broadening the use of networked models is challenging, the societal benefits of a networked model merit continued exploration and the development of workable solutions. [Health Affairs 28, no. 2 (2009) T h e r e i s g r e at p o t e n t i a l f o r health information technology (IT) to aid in achieving population health goals in the areas of clinical research, quality measurement, and public safety. 1 The need to improve health IT is driven by several factors: rising health care costs; well-documented gaps in quality; concern about safety and efficiency; a need for improved accountability; an increased awareness of bioterrorism as a possible threat; a need to monitor the safety and outcomes of drugs and treatments; and a call for studies of the comparative effectiveness of procedures for diagnosis and treatment. 2 IT can facilitate data collection and analysis across data sources and support the sharing of information in near real time across institutions, scientific disciplines, and geographic boundaries.

Is Childhood Obesity Associated with Bone Density and Strength in Adulthood?

“…The shift of health information into electronic forms more amenable to analysis and exchange creates opportunities to improve healthcare quality, develop new methods for clinical research, and follow the health of patient populations using EHR-derived data [5]. Several policy analysts have suggested that multi-institutional sharing of EHR data presents a new paradigm for advancing population health [6] [7] [8]. In particular, greater facility with EHR data is critical to achieving a learning health system [9] [10], in which information derived from clinical care continuously supports advances in medical understanding and delivery of health care.…”

Taiwan’s National Health Insurance Research Database: administrative health care database as study object in bibliometrics

“…For researchers, professional knowledge is still crucially required in handling database specific problems (Berger et al 2009;Harpe 2009). Several information technology frameworks are proposed to facilitate collaborations among scholars and lower technical barriers (Diamond et al 2009). If such aforementioned barriers are broken down, as this study shows, success can breed more success.…”

Building the Informatics Infrastructure for Comparative Effectiveness Research (CER)

“…20,21 One emerging theme within this category is that multidisciplinary and multisite collaborations can enable new partnerships, which may in turn expand the availability of data, strengthen project sustainability, lead to research innovation, and minimize duplication of effort. Twelve of the articles address the opportunities and challenges of fostering and conducting multidisciplinary and multisite collaborations in HSR and biomedical informatics, [22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35] with 2 articles specifically calling for cross-training between the fields. 22,35 In one example, McCray et al's 23 review of several International Medical Informatics Association (IMIA) working group meetings illustrates the importance of multidisciplinary collaborations.…”