Establishing a research informatics program in a public healthcare system: a case report with model documents

J Am Med Inform Assoc. 2022 Mar 15;29(4):694-700. doi: 10.1093/jamia/ocab226.

Abstract

While much is known about governance models for research informatics programs in academic medical centers and similarly situated cancer centers, community and public health systems have been less well-characterized. As part of implementing an enterprise research governance framework, leaders in the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services established a research informatics program, including research data warehousing. The strategy is focused on high-priority, patient-centered research that leverages the investment in health IT and an efficient, sustained contribution from 2 affiliated Clinical Translational Sciences Institutes. This case study describes the foundational governance framework and policies that were developed. We share the results of several years of planning, implementation, and operations of an academically funded research informatics service core embedded in a large, multicenter county health system. We include herein a Supplementary Appendix of governance documents that may serve as pragmatic models for similar initiatives.

Keywords: governance; public healthcare system; public-private partnership; research data warehouse.

Publication types

  • Case Reports
  • Multicenter Study
  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Academic Medical Centers
  • Data Warehousing
  • Delivery of Health Care*
  • Humans
  • Informatics*