Developing a data infrastructure for a learning health system: the PORTAL network

J Am Med Inform Assoc. 2014 Jul-Aug;21(4):596-601. doi: 10.1136/amiajnl-2014-002746. Epub 2014 May 12.

Abstract

The Kaiser Permanente & Strategic Partners Patient Outcomes Research To Advance Learning (PORTAL) network engages four healthcare delivery systems (Kaiser Permanente, Group Health Cooperative, HealthPartners, and Denver Health) and their affiliated research centers to create a new national network infrastructure that builds on existing relationships among these institutions. PORTAL is enhancing its current capabilities by expanding the scope of the common data model, paying particular attention to incorporating patient-reported data more systematically, implementing new multi-site data governance procedures, and integrating the PCORnet PopMedNet platform across our research centers. PORTAL is partnering with clinical research and patient experts to create cohorts of patients with a common diagnosis (colorectal cancer), a rare diagnosis (adolescents and adults with severe congenital heart disease), and adults who are overweight or obese, including those with pre-diabetes or diabetes, to conduct large-scale observational comparative effectiveness research and pragmatic clinical trials across diverse clinical care settings.

Keywords: colon cancer; comparative effectiveness research; congenital heart defects; data sharing; distributed databases; obesity.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Ambulatory Care / organization & administration
  • Community Networks / organization & administration*
  • Computer Communication Networks*
  • Electronic Health Records / organization & administration*
  • Humans
  • Information Dissemination
  • Medical Record Linkage
  • Outcome Assessment, Health Care / organization & administration*
  • Patient-Centered Care*
  • United States