Kaiser Permanente Makes Major Gains in Online Medicine
Posted on: Friday, 9 February 2007, 21:00 CST
OAKLAND, Calif., Feb. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- Kaiser Permanente members have sent approximately 1.7 million secure e-mail messages to their health care providers and are increasingly heading on line to view their lab tests and other personal health information, according to the most recent statistics.
Kaiser Permanente's online health services, including secure e-mail, lab test results and past office visit reports are available through Kaiser Permanente's web site, kp.org. Most Kaiser Permanente members are also able to check future appointments, as well as immunization records and information pertaining to their allergies and medications. Many are also making appointments on line.
"Our online services are helping patients get better access to caregivers while also making it more convenient for those who would rather not leave their home or office," says Kate Christensen, MD, medical director for kp.org. "The KP system also has the advantage of bringing people together online with their chart and their doctor. For example, patients can view blood test results online and discuss them with their doctor from work or from home."
Kaiser Permanente, which first offered these new online services on kp.org in August 2005, has more members connected to doctors online than any other health system in the world, Christensen says. Already, nearly 1.4 million members have used the online features and 4.7 million lab tests have been viewed via kp.org. "We're seeing very robust use of our system and we expect the upward trend to continue," she adds.
The online features are part of KP HealthConnect, Kaiser Permanente's electronic health record system, which connects the health plan's 8.6 million members securely to their health care teams and their personal health information. KP HealthConnect is the largest civilian electronic health record in the world. Through KP HealthConnect, Kaiser Permanente members are provided with new and evolving ways to interact with their physicians and other care providers. Each member's electronic health record includes their medical information as well as appointments, registration and billing information. These electronic records support the care and service of Kaiser Permanente members across Kaiser Permanente facilities and are also made available to members on kp.org.
Kaiser Permanente is leaping ahead with online health services as the nation's doctors are lagging in this area. In fact, only one in four physicians nationwide reported using e-mail to reach patients, according to a recent study by the Center for Studying Health System Change, a Washington, D.C.-based research group.
Kaiser Permanente physicians in California, Colorado, Georgia, Oregon, Hawaii and its Mid-Atlantic States region agree that e-mail and other online services are adding convenience and improving patient care, and enhancing face-to-face visits. "My relationship with a patient is strengthened when we stay in touch electronically," says Dr. Lisa Liu, a general internist in Elk Grove, Calif.
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 headquartered in Oakland, Calif. Kaiser Permanente serves the health care needs of more than 8.6 million members in nine 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 154,000 technical, administrative and clerical employees and caregivers, and more than 12,000 physicians representing all specialties.
http://www.kaiserpermanente.org/
Kaiser Permanente
CONTACT: Susannah Patton of Kaiser Permanente, National Media Relations,+1-510-271-5826, or Susannah.F.Patton@kp.org
Web site: http://www.kaiserpermanente.org/
Source: PRNewswire
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