Step one: Building local and regional level capacity for health analytics, quality of care improvement, and practice-based research

Electronic health record data is becoming an increasingly imporant component to state-level public health program planning and implementation. However, the ability for these data to be used on a local level and the confidence in which the data are of sound quality are often overlooked. The West Virginia University Office of Health Services Research is in its 12th year of partnering with state and regional primary care centers in data-driven quality of care improvement and research initiatives. Our history and long-term, sustained partnerships highlight the need to first create enhanced capacity on the part of primary care providers, patient centered medical home teams, primary care organizations and their affiliated local health departments and regional health alliances to best leverage local data to address local needs. Building enhanced knowledge, skill, ability, and a sense of empowermnet for local champions to repurpose electronic health record data to drive public health initiatives is proving successful. This paradigm both ehnances meningful use of the data, while drawing attention to the quality of the data and steps to improve data quality. The session will provide examples of how this model is supporting regional and state level partnerships, new approaches to identification of at-risk patient populations, grant applications to support these efforts, interdisciplinary research and publications, collaboratively built approaches to data governance, and ultimately public health policy.