Author Interviews, Colon Cancer, Gastrointestinal Disease, Race/Ethnic Diversity / 04.05.2025

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_68341" align="alignleft" width="125"]Douglas Corley, MD, PhD  Chief Research Officer, The Permanente Medical Group Kaiser Permanente, Northern California Dr. Corley[/caption] Douglas Corley, MD, PhD Chief Research Officer, The Permanente Medical Group Kaiser Permanente, Northern California MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Kaiser Permanente Northern California (KPNC) is an integrated health care system that designs and implements population-based programs that support cancer prevention and early detection. In 2006, KPNC began to implement a comprehensive colorectal cancer screening program with the goal of increasing member screening rates, preventing colorectal cancer through polyp removal, and reducing cancer mortality. The initiative identifies whether screening-eligible KPNC members are up to date with their colorectal cancer screening test by either a colonoscopy or by stool-based tests, such as a fecal immunochemical testing (FIT) kit. If they are not up to date with screening, it mails them a FIT kit for at-home testing. Members can also choose other options for colorectal cancer screening, such as a colonoscopy, through their physician.
Author Interviews, Hepatitis - Liver Disease, JAMA, Kaiser Permanente, Pharmacology / 10.06.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_49631" align="alignleft" width="200"]Elizabeth A. McGlynn, PhD Vice President for Kaiser Permanente Research Executive Director Kaiser Permanente Center for Effectiveness and Safety  Dr. McGlynn[/caption] Elizabeth A. McGlynn, PhD Vice President for Kaiser Permanente Research Executive Director Kaiser Permanente Center for Effectiveness and Safety  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?  Response: A report from the Institute for Safe Medication Practices based on FDA data and observations from a Kaiser Permanente physician leader raised questions about whether direct acting antiviral medications for the treatment of Hepatitis C posed any significant safety risks for patients. Since the decision to take medications requires making tradeoffs between benefits (which had been clearly established in clinical trials) and risks (which are often harder to ascertain until drugs are in widespread use in the real world) we decided this was an important question to pursue.  We found no evidence of increased risks of significant side effects associated with taking these drugs.  In this cohort study of 33,808 patients in three large health systems we found lower adjusted odds of experiencing the following adverse events:  death, multiple organ failure, hepatic decompensation, acute-on-chronic liver event, and arrhythmia.