ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the application of EHR-based research for informing clinical and public health. To motivate this discussion, the chapter begins by revisiting the story of two high-profile EHR-based studies: the Flint, Michigan, lead poisoning of children and real-time surveillance during the COVID-19 pandemic. These projects exemplify the impact and importance of public health and clinical research from the EHR, with an eye toward improving population health. Following this introduction, this chapter explores the application of EHR data to public health surveillance efforts, a common use of these data outside of the healthcare system. Lastly, the tension between individual and population health is debated as applicable to EHR research when inference is extended beyond the clinical environment.
