BC SUPPORT Unit

What is a learning health system?

 

Health systems are organizations of people, institutions and resources that deliver health care services.

 

Learning health systems capture data from practice, generate knowledge from the data, and put the knowledge back into practice to improve care.

Learning health systems consultations

 

Our services that support learning health systems include:

  • support to identify priorities
  • consultation on knowledge synthesis and translation, implementation science
  • support for learning health systems designs, methods and techniques
  • guidance on data analysis plans, data cleaning, visualization, synthesis and evaluation

 

The BC SUPPORT Unit consults with health authority teams to improve publicly funded health services that are cost-effective, evidence-based, equitable, and respond to patient needs.

View resources on learning health systems

FAQ on learning health systems

Using learning health systems to deliver care has many benefits:

  • improve patient outcomes and experiences
  • optimize the use of knowledge and evidence for decision making
  • reduce health system costs
  • increase equitable access to health services

Health authorities have many building blocks for learning health systems

 

Health authorities are already starting to implement learning health systems. All health authorities have many of the building blocks needed to support this approach. This includes data systems, clinical knowledge, patient advisory groups and teams focused on research, system optimization, evaluation, and quality improvement.

How do learning health systems differ from patient-oriented research?

 

Learning health systems projects:

  • are often led by clinicians – researchers, decision makers, policy makers, or administrators may also be part of the project team
  • change health care practice or service delivery, so work must occur within the health system
  • involve multiple cycles of work, where each cycle includes the following:
    • data from the system creates knowledge
    • knowledge changes practice
    • practice changes result in data that begins the cycle again