COVID-19 Supplement to A Chicago Center of Excellence in Learning Health Systems Research Training (ACCELERAT) #SP0047394

We propose A Chicago Center of Excellence in Learning Health Systems Research Training (ACCELERAT) to develop the next generation of health system transformation leaders. ACCELERAT is anchored by a tightly integrated team of Northwestern University outcomes and comparative effectiveness researchers, Northwestern Medicine HealthCare Corporation (NMHC) quality improvement experts, and partners in the metropolitan Chicago area. ACCELERAT will provides training within the living laboratory of the diverse population served by a collaboration of 11 health care institutions across Chicago. Its multiple PI structure integrates complementary comparative effectiveness expertise in patient centered outcomes research and training (David Cella, PhD) and implementation science across health information partnerships (Abel Kho, MD). The program's participatory governance structure incorporates expertise in both learning health system (LHS) methodologies and in large health system clinical operations and quality improvement. There are five interconnected core training domains in ACCELERAT: (1) Informatics to Drive Learning; (2) Embedding Research into Practice: (3) Culture of Change; (4) Quality Improvement (QI) in Health Systems; and (5) Reflecting the Patient via Patient Reported Outcomes (PROs). Our program draws on multiple centers of Northwestern’s Institute for Public Health and Medicine, and on the relationships, data infrastructure, and full integration with health system operations of the Patient Centered Outcomes Research Network (PCORnet), including our local CAPriCORN network. It includes the Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital, NMHC, and nine additional health system partners in the greater Chicago area. It also leverages the Midwest Consortium of AHRQ’s EvidenceNOW. Both are led locally by the ACCELERAT leadership team. The health system partners in both networks have advanced use of Electronic Health Records (EHRs) specifically for Quality Improvement (QI) and Patient Centered Outcomes Research (PCOR). The diverse institutions in ACCELERAT provide care across the patient life spectrum from pediatrics to geriatrics, and across all care settings (from pre-patient to acute inpatient care and rehabilitation). Our faculty are similarly diverse, and represent multiple Schools, Institutes and Centers, including many faculty who lead their own related training programs. We will integrate these strengths to design an innovative and dynamic and imbedded training experience that will ensure our scholars will attain mastery over the full spectrum of learning health system researcher core competencies