Creating an innovation ecosystem to positively impact everyday healthcare

Cerner recently announced a new operating unit, Cerner EnvizaSM, that is one of the first in the industry to unite the healthcare innovation ecosystem. It leverages decades of life sciences expertise and the broad range of Cerner provider networks and unique data sets to help accelerate the discovery, development and deployment of extraordinary insights and therapies to help transform healthcare and improve patients' lives.

Cerner Enviza provides data-driven solutions and expertise that helps bring remarkable clarity to healthcare's and life sciences' most important decisions.

We had a chance to meet with Christy Dueck, PhD, vice president, Learning Health Network, Cerner Enviza, to learn more about the innovation ecosystem and how health systems, clinicians and patients can benefit.

Question: Why is there a need to create a healthcare innovation ecosystem?

Dr. Christy Dueck: It currently takes 17 years and costs $2.5B to bring needed therapies to patients. A recent study showed only 3 percent of physicians and patients participate in clinical trials. Historically, clinical trials have lacked statistically significant inclusion of diverse patient populations. When people with diverse backgrounds aren't adequately represented, therapies shown to be effective in trials may not be generalizable to or effective for all populations. Additionally, even when a therapy is readily available, it isn't consistently adopted.

To help reduce the time, cost and lack of diverse patient populations in clinical trials, we've created the Cerner Learning Health NetworkTM (LHN), a nationwide network of 76 diverse health systems1 that are contributing their de-identified data to help fuel and power clinical research and trial efforts. More than half of the LHN members have never participated in clinical research or trials before joining. Other LHN members use the benefits to expand their therapeutic areas of research and leverage Cerner Real-World DataTM — a national data set that includes over 98M patient records2 — to discover new insights to help guide care.

When the LHN combines its potential with life sciences, acceleration of discovery, development and deployment of real-world evidence and therapies back to the point of care can become a reality for all health systems, clinicians and ultimately, patients.

Put simply: we believe all people deserve faster access to insights and therapies so they can not only live but thrive. By uniting the innovation ecosystem, we aim to achieve this mission.

Q: There seems to be an emergence of various data and site-based research networks — how is the Cerner Learning Health Network different?

CD: We're excited the power of data to transform everyday healthcare is finally being recognized broadly across the industry. However, it is important to note that securing, linking, cleaning and de-identifying real-world data and making it research ready is essential, yet challenging to do properly. We must also recognize health system resources are limited and to create and execute a research strategy, there has to be a steady stream of opportunity to justify it.

Our design of the LHN aims to address these challenges in several ways.

When a health system joins the LHN one of the first steps is to align on what data we're allowed to upload into our secure, cloud-based environment. We take on the IT steps to onboard, secure, cleanse and de-identify patient information and site anonymize the data to make it research ready. Because we recognize over half of our members have never executed clinical research or trials before, we offer several resources and training opportunities to help members become research activated. Becoming research activated is critical, because that's how health systems, clinicians and patients help positively change research and trials for all.

Data governance and security is the foundational pillar in our relationship with our clients and LHN members. We've created a client-led data governance council that helps oversee, protect and monitor all requests and proposals to leverage the data for clinical research. Whether it's investigator initiated or a life sciences company that submits the request, the governance council reviews all proposals to help ensure the research is both ethical and aligns with improving everyday health for people everywhere.

Last, the LHN and its benefits are free to health systems — for both Cerner and non-Cerner clients. Membership is also nonexclusive because we believe data sharing is a value for all patients. We are supporters of our members doing what they believe is right and align with their institutions' mission to advance care.

Q: What would you say to health system administrators and clinicians everywhere?

CD: No matter where you are geographically or the state of your current research capabilities — your health system, clinicians and patients are vital in the effort to reduce healthcare disparities. We offer solutions and expertise to help you make research a reality.

Join us on our mission so, together, we can accelerate the discovery, development and deployment of extraordinary insights and therapies to help improve everyday healthcare.  

1As of 9/30/2021

2All data pulled from HealtheIntent® and current as of July 2021; Calculated using distinct person IDs, which leverage a multipoint match algorithm to account for and remove duplicates within a single health system; patients who have visited multiple health systems may appear more than once in the data.

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