Data Interoperability, Research, and Analytics

This report synthesizes insights from the Southern Data Infrastructure webinar, co‑hosted by LPHI and the Southern Economic Advancement Project (SEAP), highlighting how local and regional organizations serve as essential data infrastructure. It offers guidance for funders and partners aiming to build equitable, resilient data systems across Southern communities.

Thomas Carton, PhD, MS, Chief Data and Strategy Officer at the Louisiana Public Health Institute (LPHI), is a researcher on this article, published in Medical Care. It describes how PCORnet’s standardized data network and governance framework enable efficient, large‑scale clinical research by linking data across health systems and supporting diverse studies that address real‑world health questions.

This article, published in Medical Care, was authored in part by REACHnet, LPHI’s clinical research network. REACHnet serves as LPHI’s clinical research network within PCORnet®, enabling efficient, large‑scale studies that integrate patient engagement and real‑world health data to address critical health questions.

Lindsey Rudov, MS, Analyst III on the Health Services Research team at the Louisiana Public Health Institute (LPHI), is a researcher on this article, published in Medical Care. The study describes how a targeted recruitment methodology that combined PCORnet® infrastructure with patient engagement strategies increased participant diversity in the Congenital Heart Initiative registry compared with traditional self‑enrollment approaches, demonstrating the value of combining data‑driven recruitment tools with meaningful patient partnership in research.

Thomas Carton, PhD, MS, Chief Data and Strategy Officer at the Louisiana Public Health Institute (LPHI), is a researcher on this article, published in Medical Care. The study summarizes a decade of achievements by PCORnet®, the national patient‑centered clinical research network, highlighting its growth, expanded patient reach, and contributions to large‑scale, real‑world health research.

Thomas Carton, PhD, MS, Chief Data and Strategy Officer at the Louisiana Public Health Institute (LPHI), is a researcher on this article, published in Medical Care. The study examines patterns of telehealth use during pregnancy and the postpartum period using aggregated electronic health record data from PCORnet®, highlighting changes in care utilization and differences by hypertension status among pregnant women.

Thomas Carton, PhD, MS, Chief Data and Strategy Officer, and Bridget Simon-Friedt, PhD, MS, Population Health Scientist, both at the Louisiana Public Health Institute (LPHI), are researchers on this article, published in Medical Care. The study leveraged PCORnet® data from over 1.6 million adults to examine racial and ethnic differences in COVID‑19 disease severity.