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Kaiser Permanente Showcases Online Health Programs During Open Enrollment Period - A First for National Health Plan

Posted on: Thursday, 11 November 2004, 09:00 CST

Web-Based Programs Promote Wellness in Key 'Healthy Lifestyle' Areas, Offering Prospective Members Real Options When Evaluating Providers

Wellness. Prevention. Taking charge of your health. While these buzzwords are often bandied about, Kaiser Permanente is putting them into practice this open enrollment season - online as well as in its brick-and-mortar facilities.

This year, selecting a health care provider has taken on a new dimension as Kaiser Permanente, the nation's leading nonprofit health plan, adds a series of powerful Web-based wellness tools for members.

Kaiser Permanente is the largest national health plan to provide such in-depth online behavior-change programs, addressing common health concerns that affect the health of increasing numbers of Americans. The modules include: weight management and fitness, smoking cessation, stress reduction and nutrition.

Known collectively as the Kaiser Permanente Healthy Lifestyle Programs, these offerings are part of a larger effort to empower people to live healthier lives. The tools are based on research acknowledging that Americans are not just seeking health care but total health, which continues Kaiser Permanente's long-standing mission of helping to prevent, not just treat, disease.

Kaiser Permanente's online tools can be found at www.kp.org/totalhealth. In addition to the Healthy Lifestyle Programs, members can participate in the 10,000 Steps(R) program from Health Partners - which uses a pedometer to help achieve weight loss and fitness goals - and access a variety of discounted products and services including acupuncture and chiropractic providers. The site also features health calculators, online drug and medical encyclopedias reviewed and approved by Kaiser Permanente physicians, and more. Kaiser Permanente members can already order prescription refills, request routine appointments, contact a health care professional and more online.

HR managers and benefits administrators can also review health plan options requesting rate quotes, contacting sales reps and applying for coverage online. They can enroll or terminate members, update demographic information or even pay bills in a way that complies with strict confidentiality regulations. Through these tangible efforts, from on-site classes to online programs, Kaiser Permanente is helping its 8.5 million members make better lifestyle choices and, in the process, potentially lower employer costs.

"These new online behavior support programs, along with the many other features on our site, are a key way to help our members with specific health and wellness goals," said Pamela Larson, practice leader for Kaiser Permanente Internet Services Group. "Our online tools serve as another entry point to the vast array of classes and support groups available through Kaiser Permanente."

"Kaiser Permanente's goal has always been to provide our members with access to innovative, effective programs and services," Larson said. "Since 1945, our clinicians and other professionals have been committed to providing great coverage plus quality diagnosis and treatment. Now, we've expanded those goals, which gives prospective members even more reason to consider Kaiser Permanente during this open enrollment period. We want to empower our members with lifestyle tools so they can go the extra mile for their total health."

"HealthMedia Balance(R)," the most popular Healthy Lifestyle module, empowers Kaiser Permanente members to take charge of their physical fitness by providing a customized action plan and coaching them, via e-mail, through the plan. Developed by Ann Arbor, Michigan-based HealthMedia, Inc., "Balance" is one of four online Healthy Lifestyle tools currently available to members at the Kaiser Permanente Web site, www.kp.org/totalhealth. Other programs address tobacco dependency, nutrition, and stress reduction.

About Kaiser Permanente

Kaiser Permanente is America's leading integrated health plan. Founded in 1945, it is a not-for-profit, group practice prepayment program with headquarters in Oakland, Calif. Kaiser Permanente serves the health care needs of some 8.2 million members in 9 states and the District of Columbia. Today it encompasses the not-for-profit Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc., Kaiser Foundation Hospitals and their subsidiaries, and the for-profit Permanente Medical Groups. Nationwide, Kaiser Permanente includes approximately 134,000 technical, administrative and clerical employees and more than 12,000 physicians representing all specialties.

Source: Business Wire

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