The Evolution and Typology of Learning Health System Hospitals and other Health Information Interested Hospitals in the US

This study identifies the type, distribution, and interactions of US hospitals that identify as electronic-data-driven, patient-centric, and learning-focused. Such facilities, termed Health Information Interested (HII) hospitals in this study, meet the defining criteria for one or more of the following designations: learning health systems (LHS), Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) meaningful use stage three compliant (MU3), Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) funded, or medical home/safety net (MH/SN) hospital. The American Hospital Association (AHA) IT supplemental survey and other supporting data spanning 2013 to 2018 were used to identify HII hospitals. HII hospitals increased from 19.9 percent to 62.4 percent of AHA reporting hospitals from 2013 to 2018. HII subcategories in 2018 such as the full LHS (37.2 percent) and MU3 (46.9 percent) were dominant, with 33.2 percent having both designations. This indicates increased interest in patient-centric, learning-focused care using electronic health data. This information can enable health information management (HIM) professionals to be aware of programs or approaches that can facilitate learning-focused, patient-centric care using electronic health data within health systems.