Opening a Cloud on Evidence and Learning

Is the Learning Healthcare System an academic vision that will never see the light of day? I was fortunate enough to hear Dr. Charles Freidman, former chief scientific officer for the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC), recently speak on this topic. I got a brief moment afterward at lunch to personally hear his passion.  He stated the Learning Healthcare System was his life work. Although I did not know it by name, this concept was what I have been envisioning for some time.

The Institute of Medicine has done a nice job outlining the definition around evidence-based medicine, research and other goals, but my definition of the Learning Health System reads like this. A system which drives value for everyone and leaves no one out. Patient-centric communication is a key component to this system. It strives to continuously improve itself. It is data driven, sees that data as good for all, and available for all types of outcomes analysis. The system itself is self-aware and drives point of care knowledge.  Health information technology at large and EHRs are core dependencies. Last is the engagement of the scientific community and allowing access to these rich data sets to feed back into the system.

My introduction to healthcare was on the delivery side through the lens of an EHR technologist. I have since also seen through the lens of HIT interoperability as well generating meaningful quality measurements out of the EHR.  I have been enlightened over the years by sitting on federal and regional panels, workgroups, and boards. Over the last few years my focus has shifted into the broad landscape of leveraging healthcare data within the life sciences. This journey in my career embodies a life cycle of researching new therapies and interventions through clinical research, treating patients, reviewing outcomes, predicting patterns, and seeing changes in care driven from the aforementioned steps.

Terms like personalized medicine and predictive analytics come to mind as mega terms we are now hearing around this cycle. Are these steps core to a Learning Healthcare System?  How do we change or build connectivity across the different siloed aspects of this chain?

I understand construction principles as I was the general contractor on my current home which was no small feat.  In this process you learn your foundation is core. This leads me to my latest passion and work that I believe is pouring the foundation for a revolutionary platform called PrimeDATACLOUD. This is a platform by which we enable clinical research. This is a platform by which we empower our providers who together treat millions of patients. This is a platform by which we can make patient data available longitudinally. This is a platform by which we enable outcomes and quality related analysis.  This is a platform by which we provide business intelligence tools. This is a platform by which we leverage data for predictive and decision support. And lastly, this is a platform which can be federated into other systems or platforms.

I started out this blog with a question about the attainability of a Learning Healthcare System. I answer my own question with a question: if a system provides value for everyone in its value chain why would that momentum not propel it into existence? While ultimately we would like to see this as a national model, I think this must be a community-led crusade to the top. I personally talk to and see many providers trying to figure out what is the first step toward a smarter healthcare system.  I think PrimeDATACLOUD is that first step. PrimeDATACLOUD is and will continue to enable patients, providers, payers, public health, and life sciences to listen, react, and change. Starting in communities like New York City, Carrollton, GA and Austin, TX, these PrimeDATACLOUD sites and communities will mature and multiply.