Building clinical research into the Nationwide Health Information Network will enable faster discovery and verification of treatments and cures by giving researchers access to data in electronic health records, according to a report released by FasterCures, a not-for-profit promoting the acceleration of medical solutions. The report details steps to help speed the implementation of EHR systems and suggests four strategies to include a research component in the NHIN, the federal government’s planned “Internet for health care.” By incorporating clinical research into the NHIN, researchers could conduct post-marketing surveillance (Phase 4) studies as a beneficial test case for other types of research and to improve patient safety; conduct population-based research across the spectrum of exposures, outcomes, and interventions; and identify potential subjects for clinical research, a major obstacle to clinical trials today. The report is based on recommendations developed at a meeting sponsored by FasterCures, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, and the National Institutes of Health’s National Center for Research Resources.
