As an integrated healthcare system committed to advancing health for our members and communities, Kaiser Permanente Northwest (KPNW) recognizes that clinical trials are essential to delivering high-quality, evidence-based care. By participating in and conducting clinical trials through CHR, KPNW helps drive medical innovation, expand treatment options, and contribute to the advancement of medical knowledge nationally and globally.
Clinical trials are not just a research function—they are an integral component of KPNW’s strategy to deliver exceptional, equitable, and forward-looking care. By investing in clinical trials research, KPNW affirms its leadership role in transforming healthcare, benefiting our members today and advancing medicine for future generations.
Key benefits clinical trials bring to KPNW, its members, and the broader healthcare ecosystem:
1. Enhancing Member Care and Access to Innovation
- Early Access to Promising Therapies
Clinical trials provide KPNW members with early access to cutting-edge investigational therapies, diagnostics, and technologies that may not yet be available outside of a research setting.
- Expanding Care Choices
Offering clinical trials enhances the breadth of treatment options for KPNW members facing limited or ineffective current therapies. Shared decision making in this effort is vital – with patients and providers determining the best course of treatment. In 2024, CHR was actively engaged in 134 different clinical trials, the majority (88) in cancer treatment, including breast cancer, lung cancer, head and neck cancer, brain, prostate cancer, ovarian cancer, and leukemia.
2. Advancing Scientific Knowledge and Medical Innovation
- Driving Evidence-Based Medicine
By contributing to scientific research, KPNW helps shape future standards of care and advances in treatment guidelines. KPNW is currently participating in multiple novel immunotherapy trials including bispecific antibody trials across cancer types and in cutting edge structural cardiology device trials.
- Supporting National and Global Research Priorities
Participation in multi-site clinical trials positions KPNW as a contributor to solving some of healthcare’s most pressing challenges—from cancer and heart health to infectious diseases. KPNW has participated in trials during health crises at the global and national scale from early work in HIV trials during the AIDS epidemic to the first trials in COVID vaccines and therapies. CHR helped conduct the first trial of the innovative mRNA-based vaccine against COVID-19 developed by Pfizer and BioNTech, which has since been given to millions of people.
3. Strengthening Kaiser Permanente’s Reputation
- Member Trust, Loyalty, and Need
Members value access to leading-edge care and are more likely to see Kaiser Permanente as an innovator invested in their well-being.
- Market Differentiator
Participation in clinical trials positions KPNW as a leader in the marketplace for cutting-edge care and treatment options.
- Thought Leadership and Expertise in Research
Active involvement in clinical trials elevates KPNW’s standing among peers, research institutions, and industry partners. Our reputation among our industry partners is one of the reasons why KPNW (through CHR) was chosen as the first healthcare system in Oregon to participate in a clinical trial for one of the earliest COVID-19 vaccine candidates in July 2020 and the first COVID-19 treatment trial.
- Attracting Talent and Collaboration
Engaged research programs draw top-tier clinicians and researchers, fostering collaboration within the Kaiser Permanente regions and with and external partners.
4. Supporting Organizational Mission and Strategy
- Aligning with Kaiser Permanente’s Mission
Clinical trials support KPNW’s commitment to providing high-quality, affordable health care services and improving the health of our members and the communities we serve.
- Strategic Advantage in Competitive Healthcare Markets
Offering clinical research differentiates KPNW from competitors by positioning it as a leader in comprehensive, forward-thinking care.
- Data-Driven Improvement
Insights from trials inform better clinical practices, population health management, and future research priorities within the Kaiser Permanente system.
5. Economic and Operational Benefits
- Cost-Effective Care Innovations
Participation in clinical trials may reduce costs for study treatments and diagnostics for eligible members. Many clinical trials provide investigational treatments and diagnostics for members at no charge or reduced cost for eligible members who participate.
- Opportunities for Research Funding
Clinical trials most often come with external funding that supports research infrastructure, staff, and technology resources.
- Operational Excellence
Conducting trials strengthens CHR and KPNW’s capacity and reputation in project management, regulatory compliance, and data analysis, enhancing organizational capability in other areas of care delivery.
- National Accreditations
Several KPNW accreditations, including its Comprehensive Community Cancer Program accreditation from the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer, and its Cystic Fibrosis Care Center accreditation from the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, have research requirements. CHR’s Clinical Trials team facilitates the research components of those to help KPNW secure its accreditations.