Getting Your Data Out of a Health System EHR
Mobile programs that document care in a parent health system's electronic health record may have difficulty obtaining their own data in a form they can analyze. The records exist, but the program may not have reporting access or a clear route for requesting an extract.
The barrier may involve system configuration, access permissions, staff capacity, data governance, or an unclear request process. The best route depends on the organization, the data needed, and how the results will be used.
Begin with the simplest available reporting route, then move to a formal request if the question requires more detailed data.
Start inside the record you already use
Before submitting a data request, find out which reports your current login can already access. Many EHR systems include self-service reporting tools that authorized operational staff can use without writing code.
In some Epic configurations, SlicerDicer allows authorized users to explore a defined patient population and produce aggregate counts and breakdowns. Reporting Workbench can run reports built from templates that users filter, sort, save, or share. Availability and permitted uses depend on the health system’s configuration, governance, and access controls. Other EHR systems may offer similar tools.
Ask the system administrator which reporting tools are available, whether your role is eligible for access, what training is required, and which uses are permitted.
Self-service reporting may answer basic operational questions, such as how many unique patients the program served, at which sites, during what period, and with which recorded diagnoses. Aggregate reports may still require approval, and they may not support every evaluation or research question.
Find the quality team
Quality improvement departments routinely use operational data and may employ analysts who already build recurring reports. Their reporting and review process may differ from the process used for research data requests.
The team’s priorities may overlap with the program’s work, including access, preventive service completion, chronic disease control, and avoidable emergency use.
Describe the purpose, activities, and intended use accurately. If the work is designed to produce generalizable knowledge, it may be research even when it also supports improvement. Ask the authorized institutional office or IRB to make the determination when required. See IRB for Beginners.
Connect the request to community benefit reporting
Tax-exempt hospital organizations are subject to federal community health needs assessment and reporting requirements. In general, each hospital facility must conduct a community health needs assessment at least once every three years and adopt an implementation strategy. Hospital organizations also use Schedule H of Form 990 to report community benefit and related activities.
A mobile health program may contribute to work the hospital already reports or to priorities identified through the needs assessment. If so, program data may help the organization document reach, services, or progress on its implementation strategy.
Find out which office manages community benefit reporting and the needs assessment. It may be separate from the quality or research office. Ask which measures the organization already reports and whether the mobile program’s data could support that work. Confirm the applicable requirements with the hospital’s tax, legal, or community benefit staff.
Learn the formal request process
Larger systems may hold clinical data in a warehouse separate from the live record. Access often follows a formal request and governance process.
Some systems use an honest broker, a person, team, or service that acts between the clinical data source and the requester. The honest broker may help determine what can be released and at what level of identifiability. If the organization uses this model, ask for guidance before writing the formal request.
Ask three questions early: which data source would be used, whether aggregate, de-identified, or limited data would answer the question, and what timeline is realistic. A less identifiable data set may reduce risk, but it does not automatically remove review, agreement, or governance requirements.
Look outside the organization
If you are a federally qualified health center, ask whether your organization participates in a Health Center Controlled Network. These HRSA-funded networks provide training and technical assistance related to health information technology, data analytics, quality measurement, and improvement.
If you are near an academic medical center, check whether it is part of the Clinical and Translational Science Awards Program. CTSA hubs may offer biostatistics, epidemiology, research design, informatics, or community-engagement services. Eligibility, cost, and access for community partners vary by hub.
If you deliver primary care, a practice-based research network may connect clinicians and practices with research infrastructure, peer learning, and methodological support.
If your state has a health information exchange, ask what data it holds and which users and purposes are eligible for access. Cross-organization encounter data may help answer questions that one health system cannot, but availability varies.
Ask for the right thing
How you frame a request matters as much as who receives it.
Ask whether a recurring report is possible. If the program needs the same measures regularly, a reusable report may be more efficient than repeated one-time extracts.
Bring an exact specification. Define the numerator, denominator, eligible population, period, and permitted values. Clear definitions help the analyst build the correct report and reduce follow-up questions. This is what your data dictionary is for.
Start with a limited request. Basic counts can help confirm that the population, definitions, and reporting route are correct before the program asks for more complex outcomes.
Name one contact for the program. Give the analyst one person who can answer questions, confirm definitions, and coordinate review of the results.
Explain how the results will be used. State whether the request supports a board report, funder requirement, quality initiative, community benefit activity, evaluation, or research project. This context helps the receiving team understand the purpose and timeline.
Frequently asked questions
Our data request has been sitting for months. What now?
Ask which stage the request has reached. It may be waiting for governance review, analyst capacity, or clarification. Then ask whether a smaller request or less identifiable data would still answer the question and could follow a different review path.
Should we call it research or quality improvement?
Describe accurately what you intend to do, and let the authorized office determine which it is. The label changes the review pathway, so choosing the convenient one and being wrong costs more time than asking. See IRB for Beginners.
We are a small program with no analyst. Is this realistic?
It may be. A Health Center Controlled Network, CTSA hub, practice-based research network, or quality department may offer relevant support. Begin with a clear question and a precise specification, then confirm eligibility, cost, capacity, and timelines.
The system says our program is too small to prioritize.
Ask whether the program’s measures could also support an existing organizational priority, such as community benefit reporting, a needs assessment implementation strategy, access monitoring, or a payer or accreditation requirement. A shared use may strengthen the request, but the data team will still need to consider capacity, governance, and competing priorities.
Authoritative resources
- Health Center Controlled Networks, HRSA Bureau of Primary Health Care
- CTSA Program Hub Directory
- Practice-Based Research Networks, AHRQ
- Instructions for Schedule H, Form 990, IRS
Related resources
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