Mental health is a vital part of overall health. But traditional mental health care reaches only a fraction of the millions who could benefit. So researchers at Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute (KPWHRI) are finding practical, patient-centered ways to reach people affected by conditions such as depression, bipolar disorder, and anxiety.
“Many of the ideas that are changing American mental health care were first tested here at Kaiser Permanente Washington,” says Gregory Simon MD, MPH, senior investigator at KPWHRI and a Kaiser Permanente Washington psychiatrist. “We’re now working to spread those innovations to large health systems across the country.”
Innovative patient-centered mental health programs developed at KPWHRI include:
“We are partnering with health care leaders at Kaiser Permanente Washington and other health systems to test innovative programs and implement treatments that work,” Dr. Simon says. “We want ‘learning health care system’ to be more than a slogan.”
Coley RY, Boggs JM, Beck A, Hartzler AL, Simon GE. Defining success in measurement-based care for depression: a comparison of common metrics. Psychiatr Serv. 2019 Dec 18:appips201900295. doi: 10.1176/appi.ps.201900295. [Epub ahead of print]. PubMed
Richards JE, Shortreed SM, Simon GE, Penfold RB, Glass JE, Ziebell R, Williams EC. Short-term risk of suicide attempt associated with patterns of patient-reported alcohol use determined by routine AUDIT-C among adults receiving mental healthcare. Gen Hosp Psychiatry. 2020 Jan-Feb;62:79-86. doi: 10.1016/j.genhosppsych.2019.12.002. Epub 2019 Dec 18. PubMed
Simon GE, Shortreed SM, Rossom RC, Penfold RB, Sperl-Hillen JAM, O'Connor P. Principles and procedures for data and safety monitoring in pragmatic clinical trials. Trials. 2019 Dec 9;20(1):690. doi: 10.1186/s13063-019-3869-3. PubMed
Boggs JM, Lindrooth RC, Battaglia C, Beck A, Ritzwoller DP, Ahmedani BK, Rossom RC, Lynch FL, Lu CY, Waitzfelder BE, Owen-Smith AA, Simon GE, Anderson HD. Association between suicide death and concordance with benzodiazepine treatment guidelines for anxiety and sleep disorders. Gen Hosp Psychiatry. 2019 Nov 17;62:21-27. doi: 10.1016/j.genhosppsych.2019.11.005. [Epub ahead of print]. PubMed
Coleman KJ, Yarborough BJ, Beck A, Lynch FL, Stewart C, Penfold RS, Hunkeler EM, Operskalski BH, Simon GE. Patterns of health care utilization before first episode psychosis in racial and ethnic groups. Ethn Dis. 2019 Oct 17;29(4):609-616. doi: 10.18865/ed.29.4.609. eCollection 2019 Fall. PubMed
![]() Gregory E. Simon, MD, MPHSenior Investigator |
![]() Ben Balderson, PhDResearch Associate |
![]() Katharine A. Bradley, MD, MPHSenior Investigator |
![]() David C. Grossman, MD, MPHSenior Investigator, KPWHRI; National Senior Medical Director for Community Health at Kaiser Permanente; Physician, Pediatrics, Washington Permanente Medical Group |
![]() Paula Lozano, MD, MPHSenior Investigator, Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute; |
![]() Jennifer B. McClure, PhDDirector of Research, Faculty, & Development; Senior Investigator |
![]() Robert Penfold, PhDSenior Investigator |
![]() Karen J. Sherman, PhDSenior Investigator |
![]() Susan M. Shortreed, PhDSenior Investigator |
![]() Dori E. Rosenberg, PhD, MPHAssociate Investigator |
![]() Gwen Lapham, PhD, MPH, MSWAssistant Investigator |
![]() Jennifer F. Bobb, PhDAssociate Investigator |
![]() Cara C. Lewis, PhD, HSPPAssociate Investigator |
![]() Amy K. Lee, MPHResearch Associate |
![]() Joseph E. Glass, PhD, MSWAssociate Investigator |
![]() Kai Yeung, PharmD, PhDAssistant Investigator |
![]() Julie E. Richards, PhD, MPHResearch Associate II |
![]() Paige D. Wartko, PhD, MPHResearch Associate |
![]() Lynn DeBar, PhDSenior Investigator |
![]() Yates Coley, PhDAssistant Investigator |
![]() David S. Carrell, PhDAssociate Investigator |
![]() Mary A. Akosile, MS, MPHBiostatistician I |
![]() Eric Johnson, MSBiostatistician II |
![]() Rod L. Walker, MSBiostatistician III |
![]() Robert D. Wellman, MSBiostatistician III |
![]() Maricela Cruz, PhDAssistant Investigator |
Paul Crane, MD, MPH
Professor, Internal Medicine
University of Washington
Patrick Heagerty, PhD
Professor and Chair, Department of Biostatistics
University of Washington
Laura P. Richardson, MD, MPH
Adolescent Medicine
Seattle Children's Hospital
Professor, Department of Pediatrics
University of Washington
Noah R. Simon, PhD
Assistant Professor, Biostatistics
University of Washington
Principal Investigator, Therapeutics Development
Seattle Children’s Research Institute
Emily Williams, PhD, MPH
Investigator
Health Services Research & Development
VA Puget Sound Health Care System