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.
The number of teens being seen at Kaiser Permanente Northern California emergency departments (ED) for suicidal thoughts and behaviors did not increase significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic, though specific groups of teens may have sought care at higher rates during late 2020.
The findings were reported Sept. 1 in JAMA Psychiatry.
Kaiser Permanente study finds declines in heart attack hospitalizations and emergency care for possible strokes reported during onset of the COVID-19 pandemic not seen in subsequent surges.
Even if emergency personnel were able to use the best stroke assessment tool available, most patients taken directly by ambulance to a comprehensive stroke center could have been treated at a primary stroke center instead, a new Kaiser Permanente study suggests.
Kaiser Permanente researchers have developed a more precise way to assess a patient's risk of a heart attack, stroke, or other major heart-related problem within the next 60 days.
New research by Kaiser Permanente shows the weekly number of patients admitted to Kaiser Permanente Northern California hospitals with acute myocardial infarction (heart attacks) fell to nearly half of what would be expected after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
A JAMA study, using data on patients hospitalized in March from all 21 Kaiser Permanente Northern California hospitals, is one of the first U.S. studies to look at overall hospitalization admissions of COVID-19 patients.
A new study shows high success rates for experienced emergency physicians who use the sum of their clinical expertise to make an initial prediction about whether a child has appendicitis — especially in low-risk cases.
Erring on the side of caution, emergency physicians tend to order CT scans to evaluate appendicitis in children, “but research shows that we weren’t necessarily catching more appendicitis,” Dr. Cotton said. “CT scans are costly and expose children to ionizing radiation that can increase the risk of cancer. At the same time, emergency physicians do not want to miss an important diagnosis like appendicitis.”
A new Kaiser Permanente study led by Dana Sax, MD, published today in the December issue of the journal Health Affairs, found that “tele-triage” of patients with chest pain over the phone can safely and effectively direct people to the right place for receiving care.
“Our online tool helps emergency room doctors to quickly and easily identify which patients with pulmonary embolism can be safely treated at home, thus avoiding costly and inconvenient hospitalization,” said David R. Vinson, MD, lead author of a new study in Annals of Internal Medicine.
