In a learning health network (LHN), healthcare professionals, patients, families, health system administrators, and researchers work together to improve outcomes by collaborating on quality improvement and clinical research projects. Although research has established that LHNs are an example of successful health care delivery reform, comparatively fewer research efforts have been devoted to understanding LHNs, and collaborative learning health systems (LHSs) more broadly, as social systems. Likewise, although much attention has been given to the technological and regulatory needs of an LHS, there have been fewer studies that focus on the everyday human work of building and supporting LHSs. Greater understanding of the organizational, cultural, and structural aspects of LHNs may enhance our ability to spread and scale this promising system and will build a conceptual foundation for additional studies of LHSs, particularly collaborative LHSs.
