Health System Access
Alberta Health Services
Doing Research with Alberta Health Services
The Health System Access (HSA) team at Alberta Health Services (AHS) collaborates with academic institutions and affiliated research centres in Alberta to support health research initiatives. The team assists researchers in navigating the data access process, obtaining operational approval for studies involving AHS sites, and ensuring compliance with privacy and ethics regulations. Patient health data from AHS may be made available to researchers on a case-by-case basis following a thorough review by a Health System Access Advisor. Individual approvals for resources are consolidated to form an "Administrative Approval," which is a prerequisite for initiating research studies involving AHS resources.
All studies requesting AHS resources must obtain a Research Ethics Board (REB) approval.
At the University of Calgary, there are two Research Ethics Boards responsible for reviewing research applications of U of C affiliates involving human participants: The Conjoint Health Research Ethics Board (CHREB) and the Conjoint Faculties Research Ethics Board (CFREB). For more information on the REB approval process visit the UCalgary Ethics & compliance webpage.
If your study has received REB approval and you require access to health system data or operational resources, you will need to submit the AHS Resource & Facilities request form through the AHS IRISS webpage. After you have submitted the application, a Health System Access Advisor will assess the study requirements and grant administrative approval which allows you to initiate the study within AHS facilities.
To learn more about the administrative approval process visit the Research Administrative Approval Process page.
Connect Care is a clinical information system that integrates patient medical records and care history across Alberta Health Services facilities. The system offers research functionalities to support the management of the study and recruitment of patients. For more information on Connect Care go to the Alberta Health Services - Connect Care webpage.
To learn how to access Connect Care for clinical research, visit the Alberta Health Services - Connect Care for Research webpage.
The Alberta Netcare Portal (Netcare) is owned by Alberta Health and stores health information sourced from various systems province-wide. As a custodian of Netcare, Alberta Health Services (AHS) adheres to the Alberta Health Information Exchange Protocol and Health Information Act when granting access to research personnel. Researchers seeking Netcare access must meet the eligibility criteria outlined by Alberta Health.
For more information on Netcare Access for Research and eligibility criteria visit the Alberta Netcare - Using EHR Data for Research webpage.
Alberta Health Services has various Purchased Services departments that provide research support on a fee-for-service basis. Purchased Service departments include Pharmacy, Laboratory Services, Diagnostic Imaging, Health Information Management and more. These departments maintain a price list for their services and require arrangements to be made before study initiation. The process involves documentation of agreements such as "Service Quotation" or "Purchased Services Agreement," which are signed by both the researcher and the service department.
If your research involves AHS purchased services, visit the Health Evidence & Innovation - Purchased Services webpage for more information.
