Why Public Health Data Matters: MN EHR Consortium

Tracking local and state health trends is crucial for strategizing community outreach, informing policy, and ensuring public health.

That's why Tyler Winkelman helped found the MN EHR Consortium in 2020.

Winkelman serves as division director, General Internal Medicine, at association member Hennepin Healthcare, in Minneapolis. The consortium is an online database that confidentially compiles the health records of nearly every Minnesotan across 11 health systems in the state. Participating health care systems prepare summary reports of their patient population and report their data in a standardized format, making it easier to assess statewide public health trends.

Launched at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the consortium tracked variations in COVID-19 diagnoses and testing by community. Now, the system tracks a wide variety of key public health indicators, including substance use disorders, chronic conditions such as cardiovascular disease and hypertension, and more.

"We are trying to use the data to take a more regional approach to health care improvement, which means that systems have to work together," says Winkelman. "One of the things that we've really intentionally done is not to just focus on getting projects done, but to form a community."

Much of the consortium's data is used to develop community health assessments, which influence local and state priorities, policy agendas, and budgets.

For example, a metro-area local public health department cross-referenced asthma data from the consortium's Health Trends Across Communities (HTAC) dashboard with Minnesota Student Survey data to gain a more nuanced picture of asthma burden. This information was presented to the local Environmental Justice office to help refine messaging around asthma.

"Hennepin, like many safety net hospitals, both plays an important clinical role for its local area, but also as part of the state health care ecosystem," says Winkelman. "We also play a really important role in the research and public health landscape of a state.

HTAC data also provided key adult and child mental health tracking that led to the creation of the Data Sources for Assessment & Surveillance for Mental Wellbeing. This project, conducted by the Central MN Alliance, was shared with a range of local leaders, including County Commissioners, to help plan place-based interventions

"We also have a fair amount of universities and college professors using the data to teach students about public health. It's free data for students to work on their projects as well," says Winkelman.

He added that the model has been helpful in the face of federal public health budget cuts and federal databases being taken down, such as the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System, and layoffs at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's National Survey on Drug Use and Health.

"It's allowed us to maintain a solid understanding of what's happening with the health of our state," he says.

Winkelman will attend VITAL2026, June 10-12, in Minneapolis, to present a poster about the consortium's role supporting health research in Minnesota. He also will discuss how Hennepin Healthcare, the state's largest safety net hospital, has participated. You don't want to miss it!

Register for VITAL2026 now.