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CHS Historical Milestones
Research has been part of Group Health’s mission since it was
founded in 1946, but the Cooperative’s commitment to scientific
inquiry became truly evident in 1983, with establishment of Group
Health Center for Health Studies (CHS). Here are a few more
milestones.
1983 | 1984 |
1985 | 1986 |
1987–88 | 1989 | 1990 |
1991 | 1992 |
1993 | 1994 | 1995 |
1996 | 1997 |
1998 | 1999 | 2000 |
2001 | 2002 |
2003 | 2004 | 2005 |
2006 | 2007
1983
- CHS founded with Ed Wagner, MD, MPH as
director.
- Group Health leads the way in showing how
health care expenses can safely be reduced based on
evidence-based medicine principles (before the term was popular)
by reducing use of so-called "routine" chest X-rays and
multi-channeled lab tests.
Top
1984
- The landmark RAND Health Insurance Study, of
the effects of coverage on health care utilization and outcomes,
publishes its results on the randomized controlled trial of
fee-for-service versus prepaid care.
Top
1985
- Group Health establishes the nation’s first
population based breast cancer screening program. CHS research
spurs improvements.
- NCI funds study of Free & Clear,
Group Health’s phone-based smoking cessation program that set the
national standard.
- A paper from CHS and Group Health
demonstrates that HMO cost increases rise in parallel with
fee-for-service costs, presaging the problems with costs that we
struggled with over the next two decades.
Top
1986
- Group Health becomes one of the first
smoke-free workplaces in the United States. An evaluation showed
high employee acceptance and reduced rates of smoking among
employees, accelerating national acceptance of worksites going
smoke-free.
Top
1987–88
- Group Health researchers advocate risk-based
screening for breast cancer, an innovation that helped gain
widespread acceptance for insurance coverage for breast cancer
screening.
Top
1989
- Group Health researchers find that bicycle
helmets reduce head injuries, accelerating the use of bicycle
helmets nationwide.
Top
1990
- CDC sets up Vaccine Safety Datalink with
Group Health among four large health plans contributing data.
- Research at Group Health shows that patients
who stop taking beta-blockers for hypertension have a
significant, but transient, increase in risk of coronary heart
disease.
Top
1991
- Research in the Group Health population
establishes the effectiveness of telephone counseling to help
people quit smoking, a program that is now delivered in nearly a
dozen different states.
Top
1992
- MacColl Institute for Healthcare Innovation
established within CHS.
- CHS annual grant revenue tops $5 million.
- Group Health research shows that depressed
patients have poor adherence to antidepressant medications. This
identifies an important problem in so-called "usual care."
Top
1993–1994
- Group Health researchers show that a bicycle
helmet campaign is cost-effective, increases use of helmets, and
reduces admission rates for head injuries.
Top
1994
-
NCI funds Breast Cancer Surveillance Project,
linking mammography and cancer data.
-
Research at Group Health, confirmed by
subsequent studies, shows that less expensive, diuretic therapy
for hypertension is associated with reduced risk of cardiac
arrest compared with widely used drugs that cost more.
Top
1995
- JAMA publishes UW/CHS study of
collaborative depression care; patients benefit from
psychiatry/primary-care partnership.
- JAMA publishes UW/CHS study that
links short-acting calcium channel blockers to increased of risk
of heart attacks in some patients
Top
1996
- Group Health Cooperative’s MacColl Institute
for Healthcare Innovation develops the Chronic Care Model.
This model has been used by literally thousands of health care
systems around the world to guide quality improvement efforts for
diabetes, asthma, heart disease, and other chronic conditions.
- New England Journal of Medicine
publishes CHS chlamydia screening study that leads to changes in
national guidelines.
- CHS leaders set up HMO Research Network,
linking 13 health plans nationwide.
- Research at Group Health shows that greater
experience of primary care physicians in managing AIDS patients
is associated with increased survival, pointing the way to
improved care management of this patient population.
Top
1997
- Group Health researchers in the New
England Journal of Medicine speak out against efforts by
special interest groups to intimidate researchers whose results
are contrary to their economic interest.
- Total number of active grants to CHS tops
150.
Top
1998
- Group Health, in collaboration with the
Northshore Senior Center, demonstrates that frail seniors benefit
from a community-based program linked to primary care. This
program becomes a national model for geriatric care.
- Group Health research shows that back pain
patients have similar long-term outcomes whether they receive
physical therapy, chiropractic care, or educational materials.
- New England Journal of Medicine
publishes CHS research that shows coverage for smoking cessation
increases quit rates.
- CHS annual grant revenue tops $10 million.
Top
1999
- Group Health researchers find in a World
Health Organization (WHO) study that physical symptoms are common
among depressed patients worldwide; but the presentation of
physical symptoms is less common in countries where patients have
an ongoing relationship with a primary care physician.
- The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation launches
national Improving Chronic Illness Care program with MacColl
Institute at the helm.
- CHS annual grant revenue tops $20 million.
- Susan Curry, PhD, becomes CHS director.
Wagner stays to direct MacColl Institute.
Top
2000
- Research among Group Health seniors shows
that low-dose hydrochlorothiazide (HCT, that low-cost, old-time
antihypertensive) preserves bone mineral density at the hip and
spine.
- First annual Hilde and Bill Birnbaum Endowed
Lecture on Benefiting Patients Through Health Care Research.
Top
2001
- Archives of Internal Medicine
publishes CHS/Harvard/UW research on alternative care for back
pain.
- Group Health researchers find that improving
glycemic control among diabetics reduces health care costs (one
of a growing number of instances where a "business case" for
quality improvement can be made).
Top
2002
- Group Health participates in a multi-center
study showing that recognizing and treating depression among the
elderly improves quality-of-life outcomes and that treating
depression among patients with arthritis reduces pain and
improves function.
- Eric B. Larson, MD, MPH named CHS director.
- Annals of Internal Medicine publishes
CHS/UW research showing that low-dose thiazides can increase bone
density in older women.
Top
2003
- Group Health researchers show that
pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine prevents bacteremia among the
elderly, but doesn’t prevent more common nonbacteremic pneumonia.
- CHS celebrates 20 years!
Top
2004
- CHS study shows “planned care” model of
asthma care reduces children's symptoms.
Top
2005
- CHS study shows yoga is more effective than
conventional exercise for back pain.
- Exercise is linked to later onset of
dementia, CHS research reveals.
- CHS one of 10 sites nationally to receive an
NIH Roadmap Grant, to scientific advances from theory to practice
with unprecedented efficiency.
Top
2006
- Technology (computer-assisted detection)
can’t replace doctors’ judgment in reading mammograms, according
to Group Health researchers.
- CHS research finds intimate partner violence
to be widespread and to harm women’s health.
Top
2007
- Ed Wagner wins 2007 Health Quality Award
from National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) for helping
to improve U.S. health care quality substantially.
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