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. ...
Dr. Brian Lim named SCPMG Physician Researcher of the Year
December 18, 2019Physicians and researchers gathered for a celebratory dinner in Pasadena on Thursday, December 12, to recognize Southern California Permanente Medical Group physician researchers. Capping off the evening was the presentation of the 2019 Physician Researcher of the Year award, which went to Brian Lim, MD, MS, MAS (Clinical Research), a gastroenterologist from the Riverside Medical ...Read more...Cancer Clinical Trials office opens in Ontario
December 18, 2019The Kaiser Permanente Southern California Cancer Clinical Trials Access Program (CCTAP) opened a new office at the Kaiser Permanente Ontario Medical Center with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Tuesday, December 17. “Cancer patients in Ontario will now have easier access to cutting-edge clinical trials and many of the promising new drugs not otherwise available,” said Han A. ...Read more...Severe morning sickness associated with higher risk of autism
October 3, 2019Children whose mothers had hyperemesis gravidarum — a severe form of a morning sickness — during pregnancy were 53% more likely to be diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, according to Kaiser Permanente research published in the American Journal of Perinatology. “This study is important because it suggests that children born to women with hyperemesis may be ...Read more...Five questions for Dr. Claudia Nau
October 3, 2019Investigator Claudia Nau, PhD, of the Kaiser Permanente Southern California Department of Research & Evaluation, recently published a commentary on the role of predictive models in supporting a comprehensive national Kaiser Permanente social needs strategy. How do social needs affect health? Social needs include things such as whether people have time and money to buy and ...Read more...National ACE conference draws health researchers to Pasadena
October 3, 2019Speakers gave epidemiologists the tools and inspiration to turn data into research with an impact on clinical practice during the 2019 American College of Epidemiology Annual Meeting, which was hosted by Kaiser Permanente Southern California Department of Research & Evaluation. “The conference was a great success,” said Russell S. Kirby, PhD, MS, of the College of ...Read more...Online physician ratings may not be accurate
September 17, 2019The physician ratings that patients see online may be inaccurate when compared to ratings compiled from surveys conducted internally by health care organizations, according to new research published today (Sept. 17, 2019) in the Journal of General Internal Medicine. “We know that patients often rely on online ratings when choosing doctors,” said Kanu Okike, MD, MPH, ...Read more...Dr. Steven Jacobsen of Kaiser Permanente elected president-elect of the American College of Epidemiology
September 10, 2019The Senior Director of Research for Kaiser Permanente Southern California, Steven J. Jacobsen, MD, PhD, has been elected by his peers to the office of president-elect of the American College of Epidemiology (ACE) for the 2020 membership year. He will assume the College’s presidency in 2021. The election results were announced today (Sept. 10, 2019) at ...Read more...Maternal diabetes and risk for children
August 2, 2019One way researchers at Kaiser Permanente work to make our next generation healthier is by studying children’s environments before birth. Recently several researchers looked at how mothers’ bodies manage sugar—including the type of diabetes that develops in pregnancy, called gestational diabetes—affected their children’s risk for diabetes, overweight/obesity, and cognitive impairment. Researchers at the Department of Research & ...Read more...End-of-life: Researchers seek to learn needs of sickest patients
August 2, 2019Researchers at the Department of Research & Evaluation are working to make the final life transitions better for patients and their families. Using analytical analysis, interviews, data queries and more, they aim to find out what people want in their final months and days, and how to improve care during that time. “The goal of medicine ...Read more...Tackling a deadly regional disease: Valley fever
August 2, 2019Over the years, the Department of Research & Evaluation’s Division of Clinical Trials Research has tackled some of the most serious infectious diseases facing Americans, including HIV/AIDS and hepatitis C. Recently, the clinical trials team and epidemiologists targeted a deadly regional disease: Valley fever. Also known as coccidioidomycosis, Valley fever is a respiratory disease caused by ...Read more...