Research
Today's rapid advances in science and technology have immense potential to transform the very nature of health care. From mapping the human genome to developing new communication technologies, scientists are making discoveries that may revolutionize the prevention, screening, diagnosis, and treatment of disease. Meanwhile, the aging population needs more chronic-illness care at the same time market-driven consumer demand is rising. As these trends converge, they are straining the limited resources our society devotes to health care.
Now, more than ever, health care must be grounded in solid scientific evidence. Policy-makers, patients, health care purchasers, and providers need to know: Which preventive measures, screening tools, and interventions work best? How do various treatments stack up in terms of their cost and effectiveness? Can health care delivery be redesigned to raise efficiency while improving outcomes? And how can we ensure that health care is provided in ways that are humane, patient-centered, and relevant to people's everyday needs?
Finding answers to such questions is the mission of Group Health Center for Health Studies (CHS). As an organization conducting non-proprietary research within a large, integrated group practice, CHS is one of a handful of institutions nationally that can discover—and publicly share—research about innovations that truly improve the health of everyday people.