Notes from Eric

Dr. Eric Larson reflects on KPWHRI’s incoming leader, the institute’s accomplishments over time, and its sustaining values.

I’ve long been amazed by people’s attraction to the appeal of one-shot remedies for complex health problems, for even the most sophisticated thinkers. Consider Nobel laureate Linus Pauling, for example, who believed vitamin C could be a cure for many illnesses, including heart disease and cancer. If only his theories had proven true. But unfortunately, years of scientific inquiry debunked this idea.

Pain is a universal experience for all living creatures. And nearly every person will experience enough chronic pain to seek medical care at some time in their life—for headaches, back aches, severe joint pain, and the like. As we age, chronic pain becomes even more common.

Giving dying patients the care they value and desire is within our reach

It’s time for Kaiser Permanente Washington to make smaller premiums a key performance metric

How Fred Rogers' radical notions of love and kindness might inspire the best from those working in health care and health research

How prevention, testing, and treatment must be tailored to meet the needs of patients in late life

Improving long-standing problems of access in the digital age requires a critical look at today’s electronic health record

Kaiser Permanente’s four beliefs connect us to a transformative movement

As interest in social determinants grows, more researchers are taking the long view