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 ...
Featured News
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. ...
Addressing the social needs of patients
August 2, 2019There is a growing awareness in the health care community that treating a patient’s medical symptoms may not be enough. Their social situation may be the true impediment to a cure. But how does a doctor house the homeless veteran, feed the hungry child, or end loneliness for the aging widower? Right now, investigators at Kaiser Permanente ...Read more...Researchers and physicians work together to stem the opioid crisis
August 2, 2019Research is integral to Kaiser Permanente Southern California’s robust program to reduce opioid prescriptions and overdoses. In fact, scientists in 2 of the Department of Research & Evaluation’s scientific divisions are separately pursuing active studies with multiple clinical partners. “We are working to provide evidence to … identify the best strategies to tackle this epidemic,” said ...Read more...Researchers seek to reduce heart disease at home and abroad
August 2, 2019Reducing heart disease and one of its major risk factors, high blood pressure, has long been a focus for Kaiser Permanente Southern California’s Department of Research & Evaluation. The work currently in progress will affect lives locally and globally. Several recent studies delved into aspects of blood pressure because high blood pressure is a major risk ...Read more...Grant funds work to predict early-stage pancreatic cancer
August 1, 2019The National Institutes of Health has awarded Kaiser Permanente a grant to find a way to predict early-stage pancreatic cancer. Leading the project is principal investigator Bechien Wu, MD, MPH, a clinician investigator with the Department of Research & Evaluation and a gastroenterologist with the Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Center. “Pancreatic cancer is the fourth ...Read more...Research: RSV infection can be deadlier than flu in adults
August 1, 2019In many ways, the initial symptoms of influenza and respiratory syncytial virus are indistinguishable. But, research published in Clinical Infectious Diseases last month showed that RSV infection may be even more dangerous than the flu in older adults. The Kaiser Permanente Southern California study of hospitalized adults revealed that RSV infection, a highly contagious respiratory virus ...Read more...Mom’s diabetes could influence child’s risk of autism or ADHD
August 1, 2019Since publishing in JAMA about strong associations between a mother’s diabetes and autism in 2015, Anny Xiang, PhD, a researcher with the Kaiser Permanente Southern California Department of Research & Evaluation, expanded that work to consider other neurological development disorders to find more nuances with the association, including one published just last month. A study published ...Read more...5 questions for Dr. Bobeck S. Modjtahedi
August 1, 2019Bobeck Modjtahedi, MD, is 1 of 4 physicians appointed to the 2018 Southern California Permanente Medical Group Clinician Investigator Program. The program gives clinician researchers protected time in their schedule to conduct innovative research and use what they learn to transform medical practice. His research involves creating models that can predict a patient’s risk of ...Read more...Use of cholesterol-lowering medications increasing
July 29, 2019According to a study published in the journal Cardiovascular Drugs and Therapy, use of cholesterol-lowering statins increased within Kaiser Permanente Southern California after new treatment guidelines called for broader use of the medication to treat and prevent cardiovascular disease. The study documented trends in the use of statin medications and statin dosages at Kaiser Permanente Southern ...Read more...Advancing Scientific Discoveries Through the Kaiser Permanente Research Bank
June 19, 2019Ed Ellison, MD, co-Chief Executive Officer, the Permanente Federation, LLC, highlights the value of the Kaiser Permanente Research Bank and the opportunity for Kaiser Permanente members, including employees and physicians, to contribute to important scientific discoveries that benefit all communities. To learn more visit: https://researchbank.kaiserpermanente.org/Read more...Kaiser Permanente improves emergency care for chest-pain patients
April 3, 2019Emergency physicians at Kaiser Permanente hospitals in Southern California reduced hospital admissions and cardiac stress testing by using new criteria to assess the level of risk patients with chest pain have for subsequent cardiac events. The emergency department assessment was implemented across Kaiser Permanente Southern California and has improved the quality and efficiency of care for ...Read more...