Diana Buist, PhD, MPH, is an epidemiologist and health services researcher with extensive experience conducting comparative effectiveness research. Her work focuses on reducing harms and increasing benefits for patients in the area of cancer screening and outcomes spanning across patient, provider, and system factors.
Dr. Buist has an extensive record of practical research that has led to many efforts to improve care, including the development and refinement of national breast cancer screening guidelines and their implementation within Kaiser Permanente Washington. She has been conducting research within Kaiser Permanente Washington for more than 20 years and is a strong believer in patient-centered care and the important role patients play in improving the value and quality of health care. Dr. Buist is involved in several studies aimed at providing high-value health care that provides patients and their providers with information on the expected benefits and harms of cancer screening and treatment strategies.
Dr. Buist also has a long history collaborating with external researchers, including helping lead two large national research consortia focused on improving cancer screening and outcomes: the National Cancer Institute’s Breast Cancer Surveillance Consortium and the Cancer Research Network of the Health Care Systems Research Network. Her extensive experience working with diverse data from these consortia in longitudinal studies and randomized trials in clinical systems puts Dr. Buist in a unique position to examine screening, care, and outcomes in health systems across the country.
As Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute (KPWHRI) Director of Research and Strategic Partnerships, Dr. Buist works with other Kaiser Permanente regions, our local academic partners, and other external collaborators to build enduring strategic partnerships to enhance KPWHRI’s mission, align with KPWHRI faculty research priorities, and capitalize on our unique strengths in ways that are consistent with our mission.
Dr. Buist contributes to a variety of other projects at KPWHRI, including:
Dr. Buist is also an affiliate professor in the Departments of Epidemiology and Health Services at the University of Washington School of Public Health and an affiliate member at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. She enjoys sharing her expertise by mentoring junior faculty and PhD and MPH candidates and teaching courses.
Cancer screening and prevention; outreach and primary care prevention; comparative effectiveness; cost transparency; surveillance; secondary prevention; breast cancer treatment; breast cancer screening; outcomes following cancer diagnosis; cancer survivorship; provider variability in care
Cancer prevention and control; quality of care; preventive care; high-value care; consumer engagement in preventive medicine; systematic reviews
Cancer prevention and control
Trister AD, Buist DM, Lee CI. Will machine learning tip the balance in breast cancer screening? JAMA Oncol. 2017 Nov 1;3(11):1463-1464. doi: 10.1001/jamaoncol.2017.0473. PubMed
Wirtz HS, Calip GS, Buist DS, Gralow JR, Barlow WE, Gray S, Boudreau DM. Evidence for detection bias by medication use in a cohort study of breast cancer survivors. Am J Epidemiol. 2017 Mar 1:1-12. doi: 10.1093/aje/kww242. [Epub ahead of print]. PubMed
Sprague BL, Arao RF, Miglioretti DL, Henderson LM, Buist DS, Onega T, Rauscher GH, Lee JM, Tosteson AN, Kerlikowske K, Lehman CD; Breast Cancer Surveillance Consortium. National performance benchmarks for modern diagnostic digital mammography: update from the Breast Cancer Surveillance Consortium. Radiology. 2017 Apr;283(1):59-69. doi: 10.1148/radiol.2017161519. Epub 2017 Feb 28. PubMed
Carter-Harris L, Brandzel S, Wernli KJ, Roth JA, Buist DS. A qualitative study exploring why individuals opt out of lung cancer screening. Fam Pract. 2017 Apr 1;34(2):239-244. doi: 10.1093/fampra/cmw146. PubMed
Ahern TP, Sprague BL, Bissell MC, Miglioretti DL, Buist DS, Braithwaite D, Kerlikowske K. Family history of breast cancer, breast density, and breast cancer risk in a U.S. breast cancer screening population. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2017 Jan 17. pii: cebp.0801.2016. doi: 10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-16-0801. [Epub ahead of print]. PubMed
Lehman CD, Arao RF, Sprague BL, Lee JM, Buist DS, Kerlikowske K, Henderson LM, Onega T, Tosteson AN, Rauscher GH, Miglioretti DL. National performance benchmarks for modern screening digital mammography: update from the Breast Cancer Surveillance Consortium. Radiology. 2017 Apr;283(1):49-58. doi: 10.1148/radiol.2016161174. Epub 2016 Dec 5. PubMed
Brandzel S, Chang E, Tuzzio L, Campbell C, Coronado N, Bowles EJ, Bradford SC, Buist DS. Latina and Black/African American women's perspectives on cancer screening and cancer screening reminders. J Racial Ethn Health Disparities. 2016 Nov 18. [Epub ahead of print]. PubMed
Parchman ML, Henrikson NB, Blasi PR, Buist DS, Penfold R, Austin B, Ganos EH. Taking action on overuse: creating the culture for change. Healthc (Amst). 2016 Nov 10. pii: S2213-0764(16)30167-1. doi: 10.1016/j.hjdsi.2016.10.005. [Epub ahead of print]. PubMed
Farjah F, Halgrim S, Buist DS, Gould MK, Zeliadt SB, Loggers ET, Carrell DS. An automated method for identifying individuals with a lung nodule can be feasibly implemented across health systems. EGEMS (Wash DC). 2016 Aug 26;4(1):1254. doi: 10.13063/2327-9214.1254. eCollection 2016. PubMed
Goodrich ME, Weiss J, Onega T, Balch SL, Buist DS, Kerlikowske K, Henderson LM, Hubbard RA. The role of preoperative magnetic resonance imaging in the assessment and surgical treatment of interval and screen-detected breast cancer in older women. lid - 10.1111/tbj.12651 [doi] Breast J. 2016 Nov;22(6):616-622. doi: 10.1111/tbj.12651. Epub 2016 Aug 23. PubMed
Dr. Diana Buist reflects on the challenges of providing screening during a pandemic — and finds reason for optimism.
The early-career scientists will receive 3 years of intensive training in Learning Health System research.
Admissions open for two new trainees as current scholars advance their projects.
Dr. Diana Buist and team reflect on HOME trial showing 50 percent screening boost in underscreened women.
Kaiser Permanente Washington has been part of the national Breast Cancer Surveillance Consortium since 1994. Learn about the Kaiser Permanente Washington Breast Cancer Surveillance Registry here.
Interdisciplinary group shows that home-based HPV tests can boost cervical cancer screening for women at high risk.
Reuters Health, published by Medscape, Nov. 24, 2020