Student Access to Patient Data
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Regulated data for learners.

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Michigan Medicine has a number of resources for accessing patient health data for research, including the Precision Health Analytics Platform and DataDirect. View the information below for more details.

Still not sure what resource to use? Schedule a Consultation

The University of Michigan has put together a suite of tools to access patient health data that differ based on the data need, the role of the requestor, and the risk level associated with accessing particular data. These tools and resources enable regulated access to clinical data on more than 4 million unique patients from Michigan Medicine.

Learn more about patient data general security guidelines on Research A-ZData Security & Privacy

Available Resources

Precision Health De-Identified DataDirect

Level of Data Identifiability: Coded, date-shifted

Basic Requirements: Level-1 account

Data Refresh: Once per quarter

Data Storage: Precision Health Turbo

Access: Automatic following requirements below

HIPAA Training: MyLINC

PEERRS Certification: Human Subjects Research Protections

Signed Attestation: Precision Health attestation emailed to [email protected]

Faculty Member Sponsorship: Through the self-serve tool

eResearch IRBMED Application: For patient-level data, completed eResearch application through IRBMED (not HSBS) and attained, at a minimum, a ‘not regulated’ determination

Email Contact: [email protected]

Precision Health De-Identified RDW

Level of Data Identifiability: Coded, date-shifted 

Basic Requirements: Level-1 account

Data Refresh: Once per quarter

Data Storage: Precision Health Turbo

Access: Automatic following requirements below

HIPAA Training: MyLINC

PEERRS Certification: Human Subjects Research Protections

Signed Attestation: Precision Health attestation emailed to [email protected]

Faculty Member Sponsorship: Through the attestation

eResearch IRBMED Application: For patient-level data, completed eResearch application through IRBMED (not HSBS) and attained, at a minimum, a ‘not regulated’ determination

Email Contact: [email protected]

Custom Data Extract (Data Office)

Level of Data Identifiability:

Basic Requirements: Level-1 or Level-2 account based on data

Data Refresh: One day behind

Data Storage: Investigator’s HIPAA compliant server

Access: Request Form

HIPAA Training: Cornerstone Learning

PEERRS Certification: Human Subjects Research Protections

Signed Attestation: Signed Attestation

Faculty Member Sponsorship: Through the attestation

eResearch IRBMED Application: For patient-level data, completed eResearch application through IRBMED (not HSBS) and attained, at a minimum, a ‘not regulated’ determination

Email Contact: [email protected]

Michigan Medicine DataDirect

Level of Data Identifiability:

Basic Requirements: Level-2 account

Data Refresh: One day behind (1-month lag in billing data)

Data Storage: Investigator’s HIPAA-compliant server

Access: Request Form

HIPAA Training: Cornerstone Learning

PEERRS Certification: Human Subjects Research Protections

Signed Attestation: Virtual attestation signed each time researcher creates a dataset

Faculty Member Sponsorship: Through the request process & attestation

eResearch IRBMED Application: For patient-level data, completed eResearch application through IRBMED (not HSBS) and attained, at a minimum, a ‘not regulated’ determination

Email Contact: [email protected]

EMERSE

Level of Data Identifiability:

Basic Requirements: Level-2 account

Data Refresh: One day behind

Data Storage: Investigator’s HIPAA compliant server

Access: Request Form

HIPAA Training: Cornerstone Learning

PEERRS Certification: Human Subjects Research Protections

Signed Attestation: N/A

Faculty Member Sponsorship: Through the request process

eResearch IRBMED Application: For patient-level data, completed eResearch application through IRBMED (not HSBS) and attained, at a minimum, a ‘not regulated’ determination

Email Contact: [email protected]

MiChart EHR Access

Level of Data Identifiability:

Basic Requirements: Level-2 account

Data Refresh: Real-time

Data Storage: Investigator’s HIPAA-compliant server

Access: MiChart Research Access Request Form

HIPAA Training: Will be assigned

PEERRS Certification: Human Subjects Research Protections

Signed Attestation: Form will be provided through the request process

Faculty Member Sponsorship: Required

eResearch IRBMED Application: For patient-level data, completed eResearch application through IRBMED (not HSBS) and attained, at a minimum, a ‘not regulated’ determination

MiChart

MiChart is the electronic health record system used by Michigan Medicine. Access to MiChart should be considered a last resort and only be requested if other forms of clinical data access have been rigorously considered and found inadequate to achieve the goals of the research project. The use of MiChart patient data for research or quality improvement purposes is a privilege, not a right.  With this privilege comes the responsibility to protect the privacy of individuals whose sensitive data are being studied, and to not use, disclose, or transfer data other than as permitted by IRBMEDCompliance, and federal and state law.

  • Volunteers are not allowed to access MiChart.
  • Undergraduates who successfully complete the requirements below can only access MiChart with a H.I.T.S. core image device on university property under the supervision of their sponsoring faculty/staff member.
  • Graduate students who successfully complete the requirements below can access MiChart remotely with a H.I.T.S. core image device, but only within the United States.

Undergraduate/graduate students who successfully complete the requirements below may be granted read-only permission to MiChart for a limited time period determined by Compliance.

For students, and employees outside of Michigan Medicine, the following criteria must be met to be considered for access to MiChart:

  1. Students must be enrolled in a for-credit research program or course and the access to Michart must be related to research work associated with the research program or course.
  2. Employees must have a paid position at the University of Michigan
  3. The research data you're interested in obtaining cannot be found using other tools, such as DataDirect and/or EMERSE.

To assess whether the second criterion has been met, please provide:

  1. A summary of the data needs for their research work related to their program
  2. What data will they need to pull from MiChart. Please provide a data dictionary
  3. What their role will be in the research project so that we may determine whether direct access to MiChart is appropriate.

MiChart use for research is reserved for times when the data cannot be retrieved by other means. Volunteer access is not permitted under any circumstances.

Contact Us
Data Office for Clinical & Translational Research
Medical School Office of Research
North Campus Research Complex, Building 400
2800 Plymouth Road
Ann Arbor, 48109
Phone Number: 734-615-2100
About Us

The Data Office for Clinical & Translational Research, a unit of the Medical School Office of Research, fosters the translation of data into research that improves clinical outcomes by bridging the gap between personal health data and clinical research.