St. Louis University’s AHEAD Institute Joins Health Care Systems Research Network
The Advanced HEAlth Data (AHEAD) Institute at Saint Louis University (SLU) – a new comprehensive center for data-driven innovation and research – is partnering with SSM Health to create a virtual data warehouse comprising de-identified patient data from more than 5 million SSM Health and SLUCare patients.
SSM Health is a Catholic, not-for-profit health system with eight hospitals throughout the Midwest.
The virtual data warehouse, available only to SLU and SSM Health investigators, is expected to be complete by April 2021, at which time SLU faculty and collaborating SSM Health researchers can present data requests and research proposals to access the information. Throughout the research process, patient privacy is maintained, SLU said. A key feature of the VDW is that all patient data has been obfuscated, meaning researchers cannot access information identifying specific patients or providers.
With the establishment of the virtual data warehouse, the AHEAD Institute is joining the Health Care Systems Research Network (HCSRN), filling a gap as the only Midwest member in the network. Formerly known as the HMO Research Network, the HCSRN includes 19 research centers, each associated with a healthcare delivery system. Researchers at the centers collaborate on multi-site studies in real-world health care settings across the United States and in Israel. With healthcare systems serving more than 28.4 million individual patients, the HCSRN can draw conclusions about how best to care for both common and rare health concerns.
“Acceptance into the HCSRN is a validation of how we utilize big data responsibly to conduct research and fuel discovery,” said Leslie Hinyard, Ph.D., director of the Saint Louis University AHEAD Institute, in a statement. “The quality data and robust methodological procedures used at the AHEAD Institute allow research to be conducted efficiently and applied in meaningful ways. We’re proud to support and collaborate with SLU and SSM investigators as they seek to address critical health issues.”
Current research conducted at the AHEAD Institute encompasses a variety of disciplines and topics, including epidemiology, health services, quality improvement, health outcomes, economics, social determinants of health, and health disparities. Examples of work undertaken by AHEAD researchers include research on COVID-19 surveillance, chronic prescription opioid use and pain management, studies to help reduce hospital readmissions, and assessment of access to diabetes technologies in underserved populations. The virtual data warehouse is complemented by other data resources maintained by the AHEAD Institute, such as national commercial claims data and national hospital discharge data.
