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. 2019 Jan 16;3(1):e10076.
doi: 10.1002/lrh2.10076. eCollection 2019 Jan.

Use of EHRs data for clinical research: Historical progress and current applications

Amy Harris Nordo  1 , Hugh P Levaux  2 , Lauren B Becnel  3   4 , Jose Galvez  5 , Prasanna Rao  6 , Komathi Stem  7 , Era Prakash  8 , Rebecca Daniels Kush  9
Affiliations

Use of EHRs data for clinical research: Historical progress and current applications

Amy Harris Nordo et al. Learn Health Syst. .

Abstract

The benefits of reusing EHR data for clinical research studies are numerous. They portend the opportunity to bring new therapies to patients sooner, potentially at a lower cost, and to accelerate learning health cycles-through faster data acquisition in clinical research studies. Metrics have proven that time can be saved, workflow and processes streamlined, and data quality increased significantly. Pilot projects and now actual investigational trials used for regulatory submissions have shown that these benefits support the transformation of clinical research by leveraging EHRs for research. Panelists at a recent collaborative focused on bridging clinical research and clinical care offered varying perspectives on how the latest standards and technologies could be leveraged to facilitate data transfer from EHR systems into clinical research databases, as well as the associated improvements in data quality. Panelists also discussed other avenues to leverage EHR in clinical research. Improvements and exciting possibilities notwithstanding, much work remains. Data ownership and access, attention to metadata and structured data for data sharing, and broader adoption of global standards are key areas for collaboration. With the steady increase in adoption of EHRs around the world, this is an excellent time for all stakeholders to work together and create an environment such that EHRs can be used more readily for research. The capacity for research can thus be increased to provide more high-quality information that will contribute to rapid continuous learning health systems from which all patients can benefit.

Keywords: SMART on FHIR; clinical research; electronic health records; interoperability.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors confirm that they have no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
List of stakeholders (blue represents panelists) concerned with or affected by issues around the use of EHR data for clinical research.40 (blue represents organizations most related to those who participated in the panel discussions)
Figure 2
Figure 2
An example of traditional data transcription (non‐eSource) workflow2
Figure 3
Figure 3
An example of eSource workflow2
Figure 4
Figure 4
A stylized representation of the clinical pipe application: translation + linking interface
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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