Leveraging standardized clinical data to advance discovery

Opportunity knocks for NIH researchers, who will be able to leverage clinical data from electronic health record (EHR) systems with increased frequency and consistency. The passage of the 21st Century Cures Act (Cures Act) has charted a path toward increasing access to and interoperability of electronic health information for clinical care. This, in turn, has paved the way to leverage relevant policies, systems, and infrastructure to accelerate research. In parallel, researchers have been challenged to make data from a single research study, once collected, useful for other research endeavors. Data sharing is essential for expedited translation of research resources into human health improvements. Specifically, sharing scientific data and results enables researchers to more vigorously test the validity of research findings, strengthen analyses by combining data sets, and explore new frontiers.

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