Research on health informatics at Kaiser Permanente Washington focuses on developing and using health information technology (IT) to transform health care delivery. By testing new paradigms of care that provide more opportunities to engage patients, this research is supplying valuable evidence that is helping shape federal policy and guiding innovative redesign of health care.
“We’re working to understand how to make health IT practical so patients and care teams find it useful and engaging,” explained Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute (KPWHRI) Senior Investigator James Ralston, MD, MPH. “We want to find ways to use information technologies to support patients and providers together, both inside and outside the office.”
Integral to this support is designing technologies that are user-friendly and meet the needs of both patients and providers. By applying human-centered methods that focus on needs, use, and usability, KPWHRI researchers inform the design of health IT with direct participation from users.
Groundbreaking methodological work by KPWHRI health informatics researchers includes developing natural language processing (NLP) to analyze text such as notes and written reports in electronic health records (EHRs). Assistant Investigator David Carrell, PhD, leads in the area of using NLP and machine learning to identify patient phenotypes, or specific health characteristics such as possible heart disease, risk of opioid overdose, or suggestion of colon cancer. This information can assist researchers in studying how genetics and other factors influence disease.
Other examples of KPWHRI health informatics research include projects using EHRs and secure electronic communications such as:
Examples of KPWHRI research in mobile health (mHealth) and user-centered design include:
“Our studies on using health IT to improve care are showing that we can achieve better outcomes when we shift care from the doctor’s office to where people live: in their homes—and online,” said Senior Investigator Beverly B. Green, MD, MPH.
Leung LY, Bartz TM, Rice K, Floyd J, Psaty B, Gutierrez J, Longstreth WT Jr, Mukamal KJ. Blood pressure and heart rate measures associated with increased risk of covert brain infarction and worsening leukoaraiosis in older adults. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2017 Jun 29. pii: ATVBAHA.117.309298. doi: 10.1161/ATVBAHA.117.309298. [Epub ahead of print]. PubMed
Barbarin AM, Klasnja P, Veinot TC. Good or bad, ups and downs, and getting better: use of personal health data for temporal reflection in chronic illness. Int J Med Inform. 2016 Oct;94:237-45. doi: 10.1016/j.ijmedinf.2016.06.011. Epub 2016 Jun 23. PubMed
Coury J, Schneider JL, Rivelli JS, Petrik AF, Seibel E, D'Agostini B, Taplin SH, Green BB, Coronado GD. Applying the Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) approach to a large pragmatic study involving safety net clinics. BMC Health Serv Res. 2017 Jun 19;17(1):411. doi: 10.1186/s12913-017-2364-3. PubMed
Asgari MM, Chien AJ, Tsai AL, Fireman B, Quesenberry CP Jr. Association between lithium use and melanoma risk and mortality: a population-based study. J Invest Dermatol. 2017 Oct;137(10):2087-2091. doi: 10.1016/j.jid.2017.06.002. Epub 2017 Jun 17. PubMed
Boyd MR, Lewis CC, Scott K, Krendl A, Lyon AR. The creation and validation of the Measure of Effective Attributes of Trainers (MEAT). Implement Sci. 2017 Jun 2;12(1):73. doi: 10.1186/s13012-017-0603-y. PubMed
![]() James D. Ralston, MD, MPHSenior Investigator |
![]() Jennifer B. McClure, PhDDirector, Investigative Science |
![]() Beverly B. Green, MD, MPHSenior Investigator |
![]() Katharine A. Bradley, MD, MPHSenior Investigator |
![]() Paula Lozano, MD, MPHSenior Investigator; Director, ACT Center |
![]() Yates Coley, PhDAssociate Biostatistics Investigator |
![]() Brian D. Williamson, PhDAssistant Biostatistics Investigator |
![]() Annie Hoopes, MD, MPHActing Assistant Investigator |
![]() Claire Allen, MPHManager, Collaborative Science |
![]() Annie Piccorelli, PhDSenior Collaborative Biostatistician |