Lessons From the Field
How Learning Health Systems Learn: Lessons From the Field
AHRQ conducted site visits at a few leading organizations to learn about the steps they have taken to move evidence to the frontlines of care. How Learning Health Systems Learn: Lessons from the Field gathered information that could be shared with other organizations involved in the journey toward becoming a learning health system and to identify ways in which AHRQ could support this process.
Learning Health Systems Case Studies
AHRQ developed a series of case studies to help health system chief executive officers and other C-suite leaders better understand the concept of a learning health system and the value of making investments in transformation. Building this understanding is part of the Agency’s ongoing effort to accelerate learning and innovation in healthcare delivery in order to ensure that people across America receive the highest quality, safest, most up-to-date care.
As these case studies show, becoming an LHS is an iterative journey characterized by strong leadership, effective use of data in the clinical setting, and both a culture and a workforce committed to continuous learning and improvement.
- Case studies Overview—Learning Health Systems: Making the Case Against Business as Usual (PDF, 105.5 KB).
- Baylor Scott & White Health: Building a Foundation for Continuous Improvement (PDF, 246.6 KB).
- Denver Health: How a Safety Net System Maximizes Its Value (PDF, 162.15 KB).
- HCA Healthcare: How a Large Healthcare System Is Looking Beyond the Electronic Health Record (PDF, 195.4 KB).
- University of Utah Health: Creating a Formula for Value-Based Care (PDF, 263.5 KB).
Research on the Learning Health System
- Chen PG, Harrison MI, Bergofsky L, St. Clair D, Mardon R, Raaen L, . Friedberg MW. Use of internal performance measurement to guide improvement within medical groups. Jt Comm J Qual Patient Saf. 2019 Jul;45(7):487-94.
- Harrison M, Grantham S. Learning from implementation setbacks: identifying and responding to contextual challenges. Learn Health Syst. 2018 Sep 26;2(4):e10068.
- Harrison MI, Borsky A. Learning Health System Programs in Delivery Systems: Contributions & Limitations of Externally-Funded Implementation Research. Presentation at 14th Annual Conference on the Science of Dissemination and Implementation. 2021 December 15.
- Harrison MI, Borsky A. Learning Health System Research Programs Within Delivery Systems—What Factors Affect Program Contributions? (PDF, 894 KB) AHRQ presentation. 2021 October 13.
- Harrison MI, Shortell S. Multi-level analysis of the learning health system: integrating contributions from research on organizations and implementation. learning health systems. Learn Health Syst. 2020 Apr 2;5(2):e10226.
