‘Learning labs’ aim to advance learning health system

In theory, the creation of a learning health system is simply a matter of creating the same kinds of feedback mechanisms that are used to create continuous improvement in many industrial sectors. All that needs to be done is collect outcomes data from electronic health records (ERHs) and other routinely generated health data, match it up with variables such as diagnoses, demographics and therapeutic interventions, create the appropriate analytic infrastructure and – voila! – generate actionable insights.

It has, however, been extraordinarily difficult to put theories about a learning health system into practice...