All Southern California members covered by end-to-end EHRs

OAKLAND, Calif., Oct. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- Kaiser Permanente announced today another milestone achievement in health information technology, bringing the convenient and potentially life-saving technology of electronic health records

to 22 hospitals serving 4.8 million members, the most hospitals using electronic medical records of any civilian hospital system in the nation. The latest count results from full inpatient implementation of Kaiser Permanente's EHR, KP HealthConnect(TM), in 12 Southern California hospitals. All of the region's 3.3 million members are covered by an end-to-end electronic health records.

"This milestone reinforces Kaiser Permanente's position as the industry leader in leveraging health information technology to improve patient care and service," said Dr. John Mattison, chief medical information officer, assistant medical director, and director of the KP HealthConnect program for Kaiser Permanente in Southern California. "The deployment of KP HealthConnect has proven to be an integral part of improving patient safety, coordinating care and decision-making, enhancing documentation, adhering to evidence-based clinical guidelines and improving provider and operational efficiency. Having KP HealthConnect in Kaiser Permanente's Southern California hospitals will help us continue to provide our patients with high-quality, compassionate care in both the in-patient and out-patient settings."

"KP HealthConnect has been a huge benefit to me, and to my patients," said Donald Jong, MD, chief of the Emergency Department at Kaiser Permanente's Woodland Hills Medical Center. "When I am in the ER, I cannot count on my patients being able to provide me with their medical history and status. With KP HealthConnect, I can immediately access my patients' medical records to ensure that I am giving them the most appropriate care and avoid medical errors."

As the nation seeks new solutions for reforming health care and reducing costs, Kaiser Permanente is leading the way in making technology a core tool for patients and providers. KP HealthConnect is the world's largest civilian electronic health record, and this milestone puts the organization well ahead of other hospital-based organizations. Further, all of Kaiser Permanente's 14,000-plus physicians now have electronic access to their patients' medical records in every one of Kaiser Permanente's 430 medical offices and clinics.

"Kaiser Permanente's electronic health record improves quality, service and patient safety, demonstrating how health information technology reshapes and augments the entire health care delivery process," said Andrew M. Wiesenthal, MD, SM, associate executive director of The Permanente Federation. "KP HealthConnect has helped facilitate better communication between our physicians and their patients, and makes managing their care more convenient for our members. Most importantly, it has also helped us improve the quality of care and service to our members."

With KP HealthConnect, virtually all Kaiser Permanente members are routinely treated with an electronic chart in the outpatient setting. Kaiser Permanente's 8.7 million members have access to My Health Manager (http://www.kp.org/myhealthmanager) -- Kaiser Permanente's personal health record -- where they can manage their health online. Patients are empowered, with My Health Manager (http://www.kp.org/myhealthmanager) providing critical time-saving features, including online appointment scheduling and prescription refills. In addition, users have 24/7 online access to lab test results, eligibility and benefits information, and even their children's immunization records.

Kaiser Permanente not only makes the tools available, but provides the outreach and education needed to encourage its members to fully use these cutting-edge services. New online tools, such as single visit activation and a revamped welcome page at kp.org have made patient access to online health tools both easy and secure. The results of these and other efforts are already evident.

-- More than 2.4 million Kaiser Permanente members now have access to secure health information management features, an 11.9 percent increase from the prior year.

-- Using My Health Manager, Kaiser Permanente members viewed more than 10 million test results and sent more than 3.6 million emails to their physicians in 2007 alone.

-- The California Department of Insurance recently reported that Kaiser Permanente, compared to its competitors, has more than four times the percentage of members using its personal health record, My Health Manager (http://xnet.kp.org/newscenter/stories/nat/2008-05-28.html).

About Kaiser Permanente

Kaiser Permanente is America's leading integrated health plan. Founded in 1945, the program is headquartered in Oakland, Calif. Kaiser Permanente serves 8.7 million members in nine states and the District of Columbia. Today it encompasses Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc., Kaiser Foundation Hospitals and their subsidiaries, and the Permanente Medical Groups. Nationwide, Kaiser Permanente includes approximately 164,000 technical, administrative and clerical employees and caregivers, and 14,000 physicians representing all specialties. The organization's Labor Management Partnership is the largest such health care partnership in the United States. It governs how more than 130,000 workers, managers, physicians and dentists work together to make Kaiser Permanente the best place to receive care, and the best place to work. For more Kaiser Permanente news, visit the KP News Center at: http://xnet.kp.org/newscenter.

CONTACT: Ravi Poorsina of Kaiser Permanente, +1-510-421-0557, ravi.x.poorsina@kp.org

Web site: http://www.kaiserpermanente.org/