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CC BY 4.0 · ACI open 2020; 04(01): e59-e68
DOI: 10.1055/s-0040-1709652
Original Article
Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York

Establishing a Data-Sharing Environment for a 21st-Century Academic Health Center

Anjum Khurshid 
1   Department of Population Health, Dell Medical School, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, United States
,
Justin F. Rousseau 
1   Department of Population Health, Dell Medical School, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, United States
,
Steven B. Andrews 
1   Department of Population Health, Dell Medical School, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, United States
,
William M. Tierney
1   Department of Population Health, Dell Medical School, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, United States
› Author Affiliations Funding None.
Further Information

Publication History

23 April 2019

12 February 2020

Publication Date:
26 May 2020 (online)

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Abstract

Objective The main purpose of this study was to establish a seamless clinical data sharing system in a new medical school in partnership with community health systems.

Methods We developed a Data Request Management System (DRMS) and a data request process to streamline access to and management of data for quality improvement, population health, and research. We utilized a four-pronged methodology in implementing our clinical data sharing system: data governance, data extraction, external relationships, and internal engagement.

Results The Data Core team of honest data brokers through the established relationships, data use agreements, data request processes, and the DRMS processed more than 50 data requests from all the departments during its first year of operation. The DRMS application and the supporting governance and relationships provided a platform for improved process and accuracy of data sharing environment by facilitating trust, transparency, standardization, and service provisioning.

Conclusion Developing a seamless data ecosystem that forms the basis of a learning health system between an academic health center and community health systems requires a combination of people (the Data Core team), processes (common data request process policies and procedures), and technology (an effective online DRMS). Future work is needed to measure the impact of the clinical data sharing system on efficiency and accuracy of data sharing.

Keywords

data sharing - data governance - electronic health record

Protection of Human and Animal Subjects

No human and/or animal subjects were included in this project.


Authors' Contributions

A.K., J.R., S.A., and W.T. contributed to the design and implementation of the data request management system, developing the Data Core team, and building the processes and relationships with our partner organizations. A.K., J.R., and S.A. independently drafted portions of the manuscript; all authors contributed substantially to its revisions. A.K. takes responsibility for this article as a whole.