CDC contracts health data collective Truveta to study COVID, maternal health and pediatric care

Truveta, the real-world data analysis company backed by dozens of health systems and other life sciences groups, won a multi-million-dollar contract from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to assist with the agency’s research into maternal health, pediatric care and respiratory viruses, including COVID-19.

The company will let the CDC tap into its collection of more than 100 million patients’ de-identified, normalized electronic health record data.

The Bellevue, Washington-based collective receives the information from its 30 health system members, which include major providers like Providence, Trinity Health and Tenet Healthcare. Together, the members provide over 18% of the country’s daily clinical care.

"As the coronavirus pandemic began ravaging our country and the world, Truveta was formed in 2020 to bring together data that would enable faster answers and better care,” Truveta CEO Terry Myerson said in a release. “This is a full-circle moment for Truveta to provide the CDC with regulatory-grade data and powerful analytics to enable scientifically rigorous research on COVID and other major public health concerns that improve care for us all.”

Truveta was awarded more than $4.4 million under the new contract, though that total could potentially grow to $9.2 million, according to a government listing. It began on Thursday and is scheduled to run until Jan. 17, 2025, but could be extended another year.

Truveta said that the CDC will be using its dataset to conduct its continued COVID-19 response and give government researchers "novel insights into new and emerging priority questions related to SARS-CoV-2 variants, vaccinations, testing, reinfection, health impact, natural history and long-term effects of COVID."

The data will also be used for timely disease surveillance and insights, and will help “facilitate studies” on maternal health and pediatric care, Truveta said.

“We are honored that our unique data will help the CDC advance its mission of working 24/7 to save lives and protect people," Myerson said.

Truveta’s platform officially launched in late November 2021 on the back of $200 million in funding and 20 health system members. The organization has touted the scale and breadth of its electronic patient data as a means for providers, life sciences customers (e.g., Moderna, Boehringer Ingelheim and UCB) and researchers to better understand underrepresented populations. It’s also partnered with technology companies like Microsoft to help train medical AI.