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.
Hartzler A, Patel R, Czerwinski M, Chandrasekaran N, Pratt W, Roseway A, Back A. Real-time feedback on nonverbal clinical communication: theoretical framework and clinician acceptance of ambient visual design. Methods Inf Med. 2014 Oct 13;53(5):389-405. doi: 10.3414/ME13-02-0033. Epub 2014 Jun 27. PubMed
Rasmussen LV, Thompson WK, Pacheco JA, Kho AN, Carrell DS, Pathak J, Peissig PL, Tromp G, Denny JC, Starren JB. Design patterns for the development of electronic health record-driven phenotype extraction algorithms. J Biomed Inform. 2014 Oct;51:280-6. doi: 10.1016/j.jbi.2014.06.007. Epub 2014 Jun 21. PubMed
Shortreed SM, Laber E, Scott Stroup T, Pineau J, Murphy SA. A multiple imputation strategy for sequential multiple assignment randomized trials. Stat Med. 2014 Oct 30;33(24):4202-14. doi: 10.1002/sim.6223. Epub 2014 Jun 11. PubMed
Johnson LW, Garrido T, Christensen K, Handley M. Successful practices in the use of secure e-mail. Perm J. 2014 Summer;18(3):50-4. doi: 10.7812/TPP/13-160. Epub 2014 Jun 9. PubMed
Psaty BM, Breckenridge AM. Mini-Sentinel and regulatory science -- big data rendered fit and functional. N Engl J Med. 2014 Jun 5;370(23):2165-7. doi: 10.1056/NEJMp1401664. 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 |