Kaiser Permanente

With its large, diverse member population and enormous stores of patient data, the Kaiser Permanente system provides an ideal laboratory for conducting health research. This relationship gives us several advantages as a research center:

• With access to our members’ comprehensive electronic medical records, we can conduct both historical and forward-looking studies. All aspects of each members’ health care are captured and associated with a unique health record number, while confidentiality and anonymity are assured.
• We have access to the expertise of 1,300 board-certified or board-eligible KP physicians from the full range of medical practice areas. They may lead their own studies, or they may serve as consultants and partners.
• We can work directly with health care providers and our patients to learn how health care interventions should be designed to meet their needs.
• If a program we are testing proves successful, the KP health plan can incorporate it into practice with minimal delay.

The Center for Health Research spans the Northwest region of Kaiser Permanente. Other KP research sites include:

• KP Washington Health Research Institute
• Center for Clinical and Outcomes Research (Georgia)
• Department of Research & Evaluation (Southern California)
• Division of Research (Northern California)
• Institute for Health Research (Colorado)
• Mid-Atlantic Permanente Research Institute (Mid-Atlantic States)
• Center for Effectiveness and Safety Research (National)

Research Briefs

To inform the health care community and general public about high-priority research being conducted throughout Kaiser Permanente, we are producing research briefs on a variety of topics. These summaries describe the contributions of Kaiser Permanente research to understanding risk, improving patient outcomes, and translating research into policy and practice. Research briefs are now available on the topics below—more will be added over time.

Explore the Research Briefs »