Kaiser Permanente
Division of Research Spotlight
The Kaiser Permanente Division of Research conducts, publishes, and disseminates epidemiologic and health services research to improve the health and medical care of Kaiser Permanente members and society at large. We seek to understand the determinants of illness and well-being, and to improve the quality and cost-effectiveness of health care. Currently, DOR’s 550-plus staff is working on more than 350 epidemiological and health services research projects.
Co-founded in 2012 by Richard W. Grant, MD, MPH, and Julie Schmittdiel, PhD, and funded by The Permanente Medical Group, the fellowship offers training and mentorship to junior investigators interested in research aimed at improving health care delivery.
A Kaiser Permanente study looking at the application of the Emergency Severity Index — a method commonly used to triage emergency department patients — found some imprecision, suggesting there may be an opportunity for the ESI to be updated.
Kaiser Permanente study found that during the pandemic's shelter-in-place mandate it was harder for people with prediabetes to exercise and feel motivated to start or maintain healthy behaviors.
A new Kaiser Permanente study finds the National Surgical Quality Improvement Project report falls short on estimates of a patient's risk of developing heart problems after surgery.
Kaiser Permanente researchers have good news for patients, surgeons, anesthesiologists, and hospital administrators who have had to put off elective surgery because of a positive COVID-19 test. Among fully vaccinated patients, there may not be an elevated risk with surgery soon after COVID-19.
A large multi-hospital analysis found that early antibiotics in sepsis patients resulted in improved health outcomes for them without posing unintended consequences for others, such as expanding overall antibiotic use or worsening antibiotic resistance.
Elderly Black and Latino people were more likely to get a COVID-19 vaccination after they received an email or letter from their Kaiser Permanente doctor, new research finds.
A large Kaiser Permanente analysis of COVID-19 patients confirms the value of vaccination, finding higher rates of hospitalization and advanced medical care for COVID-19 patients who were unvaccinated, were vaccinated but not boosted, or who had an additional health condition such as obesity or heart disease.
COVID-19 patients in Kaiser Permanente Northern California hospitals during the delta surge of 2021 were less likely to die in the hospital of COVID-19 if they were vaccinated, new research finds.
A new Kaiser Permanente study suggests that for many seniors bypass surgery may lead to better long-term outcomes than stenting.