PHIS Shows Up Strong at Pediatric Research Event

Twenty-nine Children’s Hospital Association (CHA) member hospitals highlighted their work featuring Pediatric Health Information System® (PHIS) data at the recent Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) Meeting.

PHIS is CHA’s comparative database with clinical and resource utilization data for inpatient, ambulatory surgery, emergency department, and observation encounters specifically for children’s hospitals. It is a key part of CHA’s broader analytics portfolio, which is a leading and trusted source for pediatric benchmarking and insights.

“The first time I attended PAS, CHA being a huge entity in this space really came into view. I realized that so many studies included PHIS data,” said Sreejata Dutta, Ph.D., CHA biostatistician. “I introduce myself and share I am with CHA, and people immediately say ‘wow, PHIS is what we use in our studies.’ It’s just awesome to connect with those you haven’t even worked with, but they are talking about why and how they used it.”

CHA data solutions and research staff attended the conference to present their own work, learn, and connect with members.

Connecting the research

The more than 40 presentations and posters selected for PAS that used PHIS data covered a wide range of topics aimed at improving pediatric care. Although each study addressed a specific question, common themes highlighted key areas where researchers are applying PHIS.

1. Maternal and neonatal care – Four studies focused on bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) in preterm infants. Others explored the connection between COVID-19 and neonatal opioid withdrawal rates, surgery’s impact on reduced mortality in preemies, variation in hospitalization costs for term newborns, and much more.
2. Socio-demographics – Researchers explored neighborhood determinants of children’s hospital length of stay, outcomes for patients who prefer a non-English language, and equity measurement in quality improvement.
   Dutta presented a poster on the Representation and Equity in Area-based Child Hospitalizations (REACH) index, which offers a robust framework for assessing socio-demographic alignment between pediatric hospitalizations and surrounding catchment areas. The index, developed by CHA, enables benchmarking across hospitals and supports equity-driven quality improvement and policy initiatives.
3. Respiratory care – In addition to exploring BPD, presentations spotlighted the RSV vaccine’s impact on bronchiolitis hospitalizations and charges, the Child Opportunity Index and timing of acute care reutilization for asthma, and reducing unnecessary respiratory virus testing in the emergency department.
4. Pediatric emergency department – Studies highlighted imaging modalities, predictors of non-accidental trauma in isolated head injuries, whole blood use, and management of brief unresolved events.
5. Hospital operations – Presentations explored assessing appropriateness of admissions, pediatric safety measure sets, and patient characteristics across PICUs.

While each study holds value in its own right, the connections between them often have a larger impact.

Dutta said the panel presentation, “What about those who survive,” which featured members of the Children’s Hospital Association Research in Gun-Related Events collaborative, demonstrated this.

“They were talking about how many publications they did over time. Those research findings translated into actionable policy and operational guidance for children’s hospitals,” Dutta said. “Even though I have heard about this work many times, we don’t always see the big picture. They presented that in a way that stuck. It’s not just like ‘I’m publishing a paper, and it stops there.’ The impact is huge. Knowing that you play a little part in that big picture is very rewarding.”

The human aspect

CHA hosted a social gathering alongside the event that brought members and staff together to connect and discuss projects and potential collaborations.

“This was my second year attending PAS, and it was amazing because I got to see everyone that I’ve worked with virtually in person,” Dutta said. “It strengthens the relationships; the human aspect of it is very important.”

CHA staff on-site talked with members about ongoing research beyond what was presented at the conference, including new research methodologies, radiation exposure, vaccine-preventable diseases, firearms research, and children with medical complexity. These conversations allowed staff to share additional resources.

“Not all of our members are aware of all the services we provide,” Dutta said. “So, to have an opportunity to give them ideas of how we can help them is super cool.”

The team was able to inform members of opportunities for specific research initiatives as well as for personal career development, such as CHA’s Health Services Research Academy. Through our client success model, real-time dashboards, comparative benchmarks and continued innovation, CHA ensures every member hospital has the customizable tools to turn knowledge into action.

“I visited with Dr. Ron Teuffel at Rady Children’s Health, and he shared the importance of what we do to help health services researchers build their careers,” said Troy Richardson, Ph.D., vice president of analytics and data strategy at CHA.

Richardson said conversations with PHIS users were the standout moments of his conference experience. One professor shared that he invites undergraduate students to participate in summer research as a valuable addition to their medical school preparations. These undergraduate students told Richardson that they had originally planned a career within an adult specialty, but after conducting research using PHIS and learning more at the PAS event, chose to pursue pediatrics instead. Another researcher told Richardson whether a hospital participated in PHIS was an important piece of criteria in his job search.

“PHIS not only plays an important role in clinical benchmarking but in training the next generation of the pediatric workforce, specifically new health services researchers,” Richardson said. “For users at PHIS hospitals, it is relatively easy to get connected to the program and, in partnership with an experienced mentor, they can turn out meaningful research in a short timeframe.”

Learn more about PHIS.