Clinicians should participate in research. This participation in research is essential for validating and promoting innovative, evidence-based practice, and for improving the quality of care we deliver to our members. The Women's Health Research Institute (WHRI)¹ was created in March 2001 to help Kaiser Permanente (KP) physicians and nurse practitioners to conduct clinical research related to women's health.

Historically at The Permanente Medical Group (TPMG), most clinicians who wanted to conduct research had to do so on their own time, without any training or administrative support. In addition, the projects selected by these clinician-researchers did not necessarily fit with the strategic goals of the medical group. Many opportunities for interfacility collaboration were not being realized.

The WHRI effectively acts as a broker between clinician-researchers and sponsors and coordinates studies involving more than one KP site or studies with other academic centers. WHRI projects have been funded by federal and KP grants as well as by grants from pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. Some WHRI projects are traditional, multicentered clinical trials; others are investigator-initiated research projects.

The WHRI team provides strategic oversight to ensure that projects are consistent with KP's strategic, operational, and quality goals. We assist WHRI investigators with administrative and operational support and training when necessary.

Figure 1. Chart shows relationships between the Women's Health Research Institute (WHRI) and other research institutions or sponsors in Northern California.

We also provide compliance and regulatory oversight for new investigators who may not be familiar with US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requirements and internal KP requirements for clinical research.

To date, we have supported research by more than 20 KP clinicians in Northern California (Table 1) and have attracted more than $1.7 million in research funding. Figure 1 depicts the relationship between WHRI and other research bodies in Northern California.

This section on Research in this issue of The Permanente Journal features articles by three of our clinician investigators: Tracy Flanagan, MD; Maggie Che, MD; and Debbie Postlethwaite, NP.

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