Making A Learning Culture A Reality

The concept of a learning health system has been around for awhile. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) defines a “learning health system” (LHS) as “a health system in which internal data and experience are systematically integrated with external evidence, and that knowledge is put into practice” (see “About Learning Health Systems,” Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, March 2019).

But a new survey about the use of real-world data by health care organizations revealed the big gap between theory and practice (see Lessons From Learning Health Care Systems And Recommendations For Successful Implementation). Most organizations (75 . . .