Opioid tapering and risk of overdose
After the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued opioid prescribing guidelines in 2016, the national opioid dispensing rates steadily declined. However, while reducing opioid prescriptions is critically important, abruptly stopping opioids for pain has been shown to possibly raise the risk ...
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Five questions for Dr. Talar Habeshian
Talar Habeshian, PhD, MPH, was appointed as a postdoctoral research fellow in the Division of Epidemiologic Research at the Department of Research & Evaluation in August. She will focus on cancer ...
COVID-19 vaccination not linked to tinnitus
New Kaiser Permanente research shows that the COVID-19 vaccine does not increase the risk of developing tinnitus, which is a ringing in the ears. “Early on in the COVID-19 pandemic, some people complained ...
Fewer breast cancer patients received imaging follow-up after COVID-19 hit
A new Kaiser Permanente study showed that fewer breast cancer survivors received recommended annual breast cancer imaging in the time after the COVID-19 pandemic period compared to before the pandemic. ...
Launching a multisite clinical trial in the midst of a pandemic
May 19, 2020In early March 2020, as it became clear the novel coronavirus was closing in on Southern California, clinical trials leaders from the Department of Research & Evaluation began assessing options for an investigational treatment that could be studied through clinical trials. With no approved medications to fight COVID-19, the need for an investigational option to ...Read more...Advancing treatments through clinical trials
May 19, 2020Kaiser Permanente’s clinical trials program helps advance treatment for health conditions ranging from heart disease and cancer to infectious diseases, such as HIV and COVID-19. William Towner, MD, FACP, FIDSA, physician director for clinical trials at Kaiser Permanente Southern California, has seen firsthand how clinical trials can contribute to the development of more effective and safer ...Read more...Stroke program integrates clinical trials
May 17, 2020At Kaiser Permanente Southern California, physicians and researchers have been transforming stroke care, from simply treating the patients to also enrolling those not helped by the standard care into a clinical trials program, which expands the treatment options. “Our stroke program shows how Kaiser Permanente is invested in growing our clinical care through clinical trials,” said ...Read more...English and non-English speakers get equal treatment in emergency departments
May 17, 2020Kaiser Permanente Southern California researchers set out to understand the importance of emergency department patients and physicians speaking the same language by looking at the health outcomes and quality of care for patients with chest pain. They hypothesized that patients speaking a different language than their physician may have worse outcomes. They were happy to find ...Read more...COVID-19 grant award for urgently needed cardiovascular research
May 1, 2020Investigators from Kaiser Permanente Southern California, led by Jaejin An, PhD, are among 12 scientific teams selected by the American Heart Association to fast-track research on heart and brain health related to COVID-19. The team will study the risks associated with taking antihypertensive medications in patients with confirmed COVID-19 infection and high blood pressure. “In conversations with ...Read more...New rapid-cycle research projects seek actionable insights on COVID-19
April 30, 2020The Kaiser Permanente Southern California Regional Research Committee and the Care Improvement Research Team recently initiated 4 new rapid-cycle research projects that will help answer questions regarding prognosis for patients with suspected or confirmed COVID-19Read more...Declines in heart attacks greater among men than women
February 18, 2020In a study published in the American Heart Association scientific journal Circulation, Kaiser Permanente research scientists report a steady decline in heart attacks for both men and women enrolled in the health system from 2000 to 2014, although that rate of decline slowed among women in the last 5 years of the study. “The study points ...Read more...Resident research improves patient care
January 29, 2020Over recent years, patient care at Kaiser Permanente Southern California has improved in many ways due to what might be considered an unlikely source: our residents’ research. In the Pediatrics Department at the Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Center, resident research has led to better booking of follow-up appointments and fewer unexpected intubations among newborns. It ...Read more...5 questions for … Dr. Steven Jacobsen
January 29, 2020As the senior director of research for Kaiser Permanente in Southern California, Steven Jacobsen, MD, PhD, leads dedicated scientists and clinicians who use information collected during doctor and hospital visits to determine what really works — and what doesn’t work — in health care. They then use those findings to improve health and health care ...Read more...Meet our new clinician investigators
January 29, 2020Three physicians recently joined Southern California Permanente Medical Group’s Clinician Investigator Program: urogynecologist Kimberly Ferrante, MD, MAS; pulmonologist Dennis Hwang, MD; and cardiologist Mingsum Lee, MD, PhD. The Clinician Investigator Program is a formal pathway that allows physicians to integrate research into their clinical careers. Physicians selected for the highly competitive program receive additional time to ...Read more...