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CHS Strengths

Group Health Center for Health Studies’ (CHS) strongest suit is its capability to study health and health care as it exists in an extensive population that reflects the whole community.

The Center’s strengths include:

Connections to a defined population of about 400,000 Group Health members—CHS researchers have access to Group Health’s sophisticated data systems—including data from EpiCare, the organization’s state-of-the-art clinical information system—allowing them to study health outcomes, utilization, and cost of health care services for about 540,000 people in Washington and Idaho. Because this large, stable, insured membership receives its treatment, prescription drugs, and insurance coverage from a single system, researchers get a full view of the population’s experience as it happens naturally over time. The members, in turn, benefit from innovations in care that the research teams discover.

Collaborations with other leading research institutions—CHS scientists often team up with investigators from other research institutions who can benefit from CHS’ expertise and links to the Group Health membership. Partners include the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Veterans Affairs Puget Sound Health Care System, and many major universities, including the University of Washington, Harvard University, Boston University, and the University of Michigan.

Multi-site studies involving other large health plans—As a founder of the 13-member HMO Research Network, CHS often collaborates on multi-site studies with other research institutions that are based in large health systems like Group Health. By combining data, these partners create rich, diverse study populations that can number in the tens of millions. Examples include ongoing, federally funded studies of cancer control, drug safety, and immunization. Research using such large study populations allows powerful new insights into the frequency of adverse events, the safety of medications, the effectiveness of various screening methods, treatments, and more. Through the Coordinated Clinical Studies Network—headed by CHS—these health plans are developing an informatics infrastructure and other tools to enhance the productivity and efficiency of large, multi-site clinical studies.

Alignment with Group Health’s mission to "transform health care"—According to its mission statement, "Group Health Cooperative exists to transform health care, working together every day to improve the care and well-being of our consumers and communities." "Scientific discipline" is among Group Health’s core values, so it makes sense that the Cooperative supports CHS in its pursuit of evidence to improve health care.

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