Paula Lozano, MD, MPH

Paula Lozano

"When researchers partner with clinicians and leaders and bring our diverse skills to the table, we can achieve our shared goal of improving health and health care for the people and communities we serve."

Paula Lozano, MD, MPH

Senior Investigator, Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute
Director, Center for Accelerating Care Transformation
Senior Associate Medical Director for Research and Translation, Washington Permanente Medical Group

Paula.Lozano@kp.org
206-287-2113

Biography

Senior Investigator Paula Lozano, MD, MPH, is a pediatrician and medical director for research and translation at the Washington Permanente Medical Group. She also co-directs the Center for Accelerating Care Transformation (ACT Center) at Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute (KPWHRI). Dr. Lozano’s work focuses on helping Kaiser Permanente Washington succeed as a learning health system, where research informs practice and practice informs research.

“The challenges facing health care are so complex,” she says. “The learning health system seems like the best way to deliver on our promise to provide the highest quality, patient-centered, effective, and affordable care to Kaiser Permanente Washington members.”

Dr. Lozano founded Kaiser Permanente Washington’s Learning Health System (LHS) Program in 2017 and continues to lead the organization’s learning health system work through the ACT Center. Established in 2021, the ACT Center brought the LHS Program together with the MacColl Center for Health Care Innovation to help health systems nationwide accelerate care transformation and achieve lasting, equitable improvements in care delivery.

The ACT Center’s learning health system work represents Kaiser Permanente Washington’s investment in the use of rigorous evidence and research methods ─ in partnership with frontline clinicians, leaders and patients ─ to promote a culture of continuous learning. Deploying the advanced scientific methods available at KPWHRI, the ACT Center helps Kaiser Permanente Washington improve health, make care more affordable, and provide a good patient experience. Dr. Lozano leads two projects in this portfolio — Integrated Pain Management and Care Management for Chronic Pain — both aimed at promoting opioid safety and whole-person pain care.

As co-director of the CATALyST Learning Health Systems Scholars K12 Training Program, funded by Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), Dr. Lozano trains and mentors multidisciplinary junior faculty at KPWHRI, the University of Washington (UW), and Veterans Affairs (VA).

Dr. Lozano's other research interests have included health behavior-change, obesity, self-management of chronic conditions, and health disparities. She is collaborating with KPWHRI Senior Investigator David Arterburn, MD, MPH, on Moving to Health, a National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded project that is examining the relationships between neighborhood food and physical activity characteristics and development obesity. Dr. Lozano’s work has focused on improving health care quality through changing the delivery system, supporting clinical decision-making by providers, and supporting patients and parents in health behavior change. She has also served as an investigator for several U.S. Preventive Services Task Force evidence reviews conducted by the Kaiser Permanente Research Affiliates Evidence-based Practice Center.

Dr. Lozano practiced general pediatrics at Harborview Medical Center and Seattle Children's Hospital while on the faculty at the UW Department of Pediatrics, where she taught residents and medical students. She also served as director of the UW Primary Care Research Fellowship, funded by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), to provide research training in the primary care disciplines of internal medicine, family medicine, and pediatrics. She is an adjunct professor of health systems and population health at the UW School of Public Health.

RESEARCH INTERESTS AND EXPERIENCE

 

Recent publications

Silverstein M, Iverson L, Lozano P. An English-language clinic-based literacy program is effective for a multilingual population. Pediatrics. 2002;109(5):E76. PubMed

Guevara J, Lozano P, Wickizer T, Mell L, Gephart H. Psychotropic medication use in a population of children who have attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Pediatrics. 2002;109(5):733-9. PubMed

Finkelstein JA, Fuhlbrigge A, Lozano P, Grant EN, Shulruff R, Arduino KE, Weiss KB. Parent-reported environmental exposures and environmental control measures for children with asthma. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2002;156(3):258-64. PubMed

Ludman EJ, Curry SJ, Grothaus LC, Graham E, Stout J, Lozano P. Depressive symptoms, stress, and weight concerns among African American and European American low-income female smokers. Psychol Addict Behav. 2002;16(1):68-71. PubMed

Li ST, Lozano P, Grossman DC, Graham E. Hormone-containing hair product use in prepubertal children. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2002;156(1):85-6. PubMed

Guevara J, Lozano P, Wickizer T, Mell L, Gephart H. Utilization and cost of health care services for children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Pediatrics. 2001;108(1):71-8. PubMed

Grupp-Phelan J, Lozano P, Fishman P. Health care utilization and cost in children with asthma and selected conmorbidities. J Asthma. 2001;38(4):363-73. PubMed

Adams RJ, Fuhlbrigge A, Finkelstein JA, Lozano P, Livingston JM, Weiss KB, Weiss ST. Impact of inhaled controller therapy on hospitalization and emergency room visits for children with asthma. Pediatrics. 2001;107(4):706-11. PubMed

Adams RJ, Fuhlbrigge A, Finkelstein JA, Lozano P, Livingston JM, Weiss KB, Weiss ST. Use of inhaled anti-inflammatory medication in children with asthma in managed care settings. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2001;155(4):501-7. PubMed

Donahue JG, Fuhlbrigge AL, Finkelstein JA, Fagan J, Livingston JM, Lozano P, Platt R, Weiss ST, Weiss KB. Asthma pharmacotherapy and utilization by children in 3 managed care organizations. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2000;106(6):1108-14. PubMed

 

Research

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Better care for patients who drink alcohol

A new primary care approach improves alcohol-related preventive care as well as care for alcohol use disorder.

News

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Toolkit offers guidance for people with persistent pain

The new comprehensive resource was written from the perspective of patients experiencing ongoing pain.  

Learning health systems

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Scholars and mentors strengthen bridge between research and care delivery

New paper shows mentorship boosts evidence-based, patient-centered care.

From research to practice

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Predicting and preventing missed clinic visits

Biostatistician Yates Coley reports on new predictive analytics work that’s decreasing missed visits at KP Washington.

M2H study

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Can where you move impact future weight gain?

A new study finds that moving from low- to high-density neighborhoods might be related to reductions in weight gain.

ACT Center

ACT CENTER team leaders, outside

New center focuses on equitable, whole-person health care

Kaiser Permanente launches the Center for Accelerating Care Transformation.

KPWHRI In the Media

Paula Lozano, MD, MPH, and Amy Lee, MPH, offer insights on learning health systems

Breaking down barriers: Learning health system connects researchers, health professionals and communities

Healthy Debate, June 10, 2021