The northern california perinatal research unit: a hybrid model bridging research, quality improvement and clinical practice.

Kaiser Permanente (KP) has a long-standing commitment to conduct research and report publicly. Simultaneously, it faces a different imperative: harnessing information systems to leverage internal improvements in outcomes, efficiency, and costs. Now that KP HealthConnect, the KP electronic health record, is fully implemented, research challenges at KP are moving away from issues of data access and toward the mechanisms through which raw data create meaningful clinical knowledge that is based on rigorous research. In this report we describe a model for research-the Northern California Division of Research Perinatal Research Unit-that leverages internal and external resources to fulfill these twin missions.