UI Health part of Chicago clinical data network
The University of Illinois Hospital & Health Sciences System is part of a coalition of 20 health and hospital organizations that has been awarded an 18-month, $7 million federal award to establish a clinical data research network. Awarded by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute, the coalition will be part of a larger national network that will model how health care institutions in urban settings improve health outcomes and drive down costs for both rare and common conditions such as sickle cell disease, asthma, anemia, obesity and diabetes.
The coalition, the Chicago Area Patient Centered Outcomes Research Network, or CAPriCORN, will develop a data infrastructure to compile and share data from more than 1 million patients in the Chicago region, including many high-risk patients. Researchers studying the vast pool of electronic health record and outcomes information will use the data to develop new models of healthcare delivery and test strategies for reducing health disparities among diverse patient populations.
“Through this unique collaboration of incredibly talented researchers, Illinois is helping lead the fight against chronic illnesses that affect millions of Americans,” said Illinois Governor Pat Quinn. “The rich data pool that these researchers will be able to pull from is astounding. From veterans, low-income Medicaid patients, and from the middle-class to children from all backgrounds, CAPriCORN will be able to ultimately touch millions of lives and make a positive impact on disease prevention and improving health outcomes.”
CAPriCORN has already pooled clinical data from electronic health records to identify patients and potential study participants for anticipated research efforts and clinical trials.
“CAPriCORN aligns with our core mission at UI Health to bring to bear our expertise in research and patient care to reduce health inequalities,” said Dr. Jerry Krishnan, associate vice president for health affairs and principal investigator for CAPriCORN at the University of Illinois Hospital & Health Sciences System. “By joining forces with other hospitals, health systems, and other stakeholders we can also play a role in improving the health of patients outside our own service area.”
Insights from CAPriCORN are expected to help identify gaps in health care coverage that could be filled through new partnerships; find better ways to use limited resources; and improve the delivery of care and outcomes for patients with prevalent diseases.
The collaboration will be led by the Chicago Community Trust with administrative support from the Illinois Medical District Commission. CAPriCORN funding will be used for numerous initiatives including compiling clinical data; designing systems to conduct comparative effectiveness research trials and observational studies in Chicago and nationally; establish procedures for clinical data standardization and sharing across participating health care delivery institutions that can be used for performance measurement and quality improvement; engaging patients, clinicians and health system leadership in governance and use of CAPriCORN data resources; and recruiting and surveying clinical research study participants.
Other participating health care systems include:
- Alliance of Chicago’s Federally Qualified Health Centers
- Cook County Health and Hospital Systems
- Loyola University Health System
- NorthShore University HealthSystem
- Northwestern Medicine
- Rush University Medical Center
- University of Chicago Medicine
- Veterans Administration Hospitals (Hines, Jesse Brown)
Other CAPriCORN partners include:
- The Chicago Community Trust
- Illinois Medical District Commission
- University HealthSystem Consortium (UHC)
- University of Illinois at Chicago
- Chicago Health IT Regional Extension Center (CHITREC)
- Medical Research Analytics and Informatics Alliance
- Center for Medical Technology Policy
- Clinical Directors Network
- RAND
- Tufts University CTSI
- Vanderbilt University
- Illinois Hospital Association
CAPriCORN is supported by the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services, the Illinois Office of Health and Information Technology, the Cook County Government and the Chicago Department of Public Health.
