Lorella Palazzo, PhD, is a sociologist who specializes in optimizing care delivery and improving access to health services. She has extensive experience in analyzing clinical data and evaluating health care improvement efforts. At Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute (KPWHRI), she has used this expertise to assess the progress and results of pilot projects supported by the Group Health Foundation Partnership for Innovation. In these projects, KPWHRI researchers and Kaiser Permanente Washington clinicians work together to test innovative health care improvement ideas. Dr. Palazzo's evaluations have determined how a pilot innovation affected health care costs, care delivery, and patient experiences. With the MacColl Center for Health Care Innovation, she also has evaluated efforts to reduce medical overuse. Dr. Palazzo has supported research at KPWHRI on aging and dementia, cancer, cardiovascular health, mental health, and safe medication use. She plans to continue and expand her recent work in implementation science and cancer screening. Inspired by her background as a sociologist, Dr. Palazzo is also interested in how social scientists can best collaborate with other health researchers to improve health care.

Dr. Palazzo’s previous work includes evaluating educational programs to make sure that nurses and medical assistants get up-to-date training that reflects current health care demands. She has studied the best ways to attract and retain nurses and other clinical personnel to underserved areas. She brings this experience to current research that particularly focuses on health disparities and matching the health workforce with the needs of rural residents and underrepresented minorities. Dr. Palazzo has also researched alternative modes of healing and how they are being integrated into health care delivery systems to expand care options for patients.