The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is the gravest public health crisis that the United States has seen in more than a century. Health care delivery systems are the focal point for interfacing with COVID-19; however, many were and remain unprepared for this or similar outbreaks. In this article, we describe the learning health system (LHS) as an ideal organizing principle to inform an evidence-based response to public health emergencies like COVID-19. We further describe barriers and challenges to the realization of the LHS and propose a call to action for a substantial investment in the LHS, with a focus on public health.
