Electronic Health Record (EHR) health data provide huge opportunities for the advancement of medical research, the improvement of healthcare, and the enhancement of patient safety. The reuse of EHR data for clinical research has the potential to reduce R&D timelines and costs, optimize the design and conduct of clinical trials, accelerate patient recruitment, improve the efficiency of clinical research processes, and speed up the delivery of safe and effective innovative medicines to patients. The Editors of “Biomed Research International” are pleased to launch this new special issue.

This special issue is intended to present and discuss breakthrough technological developments which are expected to revolutionize clinical research environments and healthcare by enabling the reuse of EHR health data for medical research and knowledge discovery.

Potential topics include, but are not limited to:

• Feasibility and “proof-of-concept” studies
• Pilot studies relevant to the reuse of eHealth data for clinical research
• EHR mining studies in healthcare
• Results from European Commission funded research projects focusing on leveraging EHRs, interoperability, and knowledge management
• Value assessments (including cost-benefit studies of using EHR for clinical research versus classical practices)
• Studies using new methodological paradigms that challenge current thinking in clinical research
• Health information protection and patient privacy