Leading Learning Health Systems: Strategies Used to Establish and Conduct a Learning Health System

Learning health systems (LHS) improve patient and provider experiences, population health, and health system performance. LHS leaders develop LHS' social and scientific infrastructures and align the LHS with host organization's priorities. Although researchers have examined data infrastructure and Learning Community configurations, few studies have evaluated discrete strategies leaders deploy to construct a LHS.

We described methods used to establish the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Geriatric LHS (GLHS) supporting older Veterans transitioning from hospital to home and examined strategies GLHS leaders used to conduct LHS activities.

Qualitative methods were employed to review notes from all meetings and post-meeting debriefs from encounters with operational partners, Learning Community members, and Quantitative and Qualitative Data Core subcommittees. Member checking with Learning Community and Data Core representatives led to iterative refinement of findings. A seven-question survey examined Learning Community member satisfaction with the GLHS.

Ten of 16 Learning Community members (62.5%) completed surveys, indicating that the GLHS met Learning Community members' needs. The four key GLHS structural elements were (1) the imperative of maintaining an Idea Repository, (2) the value of notetaking and formal debriefs, (3) the cadence of meetings, and (4) the role of the newsletter to promote engagement. Five themes described core activities/perspectives GLHS operational leaders used: (1) listening to the Learning Community; (2) modifying analyses in response to Learning Community input; (3) including diverse perspectives; (4) managing organizational complexity; and (5) serving the healthcare system.

The GLHS illustrates the importance of active listening, collaborative engagement, and responsive adaptation to advance LHS objectives. LHS leadership strategies such as an Idea Repository and iterative feedback mechanisms fostered stakeholder participation and informed data-driven improvements.