Revolutionizing COVID-19 Research: An EHR-enabled Learning Health Network

Ann Marie Navar, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Medicine, Duke Clinical Research Institute, Duke University School of Medicine & Strategic Advisor, Cerner Corporation, and Eric D. Peterson, MD, MPH, Distinguished Professor of Medicine, Duke Clinical Research Institute & Strategic Advisor, Cerner Corporation. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the urgent need for EHR data access for clinical researchers to understand disease trends and identify potential therapies. However, significant concerns have been raised about data quality and protection of human subjects, and many researchers are unable to access the data they need to answer the most important epidemiologic questions. In this teleconference, Drs. Navar and Peterson present an overview of efforts taken to promote EHR data sharing to support COVID-19 research as part of a broader effort to use EHR data for clinical research. They also describe their work to build an EHR-enabled Learning Health Network to streamline clinical research conducted across multiple institutions.