News
March 6, 2019

Regenstrief Scientists Offer Expertise to Health Leaders in Texas

Regenstrief Institute faculty members Shaun Grannis, M.D., M.S., and Josh Vest, PhD, traveled to Texas to share the latest research from Regenstrief and offer advice to medical leaders as they prepare to launch a regional health information exchange (HIE).

Dr. Grannis and Dr. Vest gave a presentation at the Health Informatics Grand Rounds at the University of Texas at Austin Dell Medical School. The event was hosted by the school’s Department of Population Health.

Shaun Grannis, MD, MS VP for Data and AnalyticsDr. Grannis presented an overview of the historical research and accomplishments of Regenstrief, including how HIEs have been leveraged to improve population and global health through OpenMRS and OpenHIE. He also spoke about how Regenstrief has been able to bring more sources of data together to improve the practice of precision health.

Dr. Vest gave a specific example of that innovation and research by presenting his team’s work on “Uppstroms,” an initiative using machine learning and data from a number of sources to identify patients in need of wraparound services outside of the doctor’s office. The program is currently in use in nine primary care clinics in the Eskenazi Health system. The app won the BioCrossroads Indiana Inject Tech Challenge and the American Medical Informatics Association’s Pitch IT competition.

Dr. Josh VestDr. Grannis and Dr. Vest were invited to speak by William Tierney, M.D., who founded the Department of Population Health at the Dell Medical School. Dr. Tierney, formerly president and chief executive officer of Regenstrief, is working to build a health data sharing community for the Austin area. Drs. Grannis and Vest have been sharing their expertise and experiences with Dr. Tierney and his colleagues.

Following their Grand Rounds presentation, the Regenstrief faculty met with the Texas State Health department officials as well as leaders of local health systems to discuss strategies for creating an HIE and its uses.

Related News

image of a doctor consulting with a patient

Scalable approach could improve early detection of cognitive impairment in primary care

Regenstrief-led study evaluates how existing health data and patient-reported information could help clinicians identify individuals who need further assessmentEarly

Christopher Callahan, MD

Regenstrief Institute scientist named next president and CEO of Regenstrief Foundation 

Longtime Regenstrief investigator and former IU Center for Aging Research director will assume Foundation leadership in summer 2027.  Christopher

Rachel Patzer, PhD, MPH

Building trust in healthcare AI through data and evidence

As artificial intelligence rapidly transforms healthcare, innovation alone is not enough. Health systems need evidence that AI tools are

doctor using electronic health record

Data expertise helps researchers understand how clinical tools are used in real-world care

Regenstrief Data Services (RDS) provided critical health data and specialized expertise to support research examining clinical decision-support use across