 |  |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  |
|
|
Recent Developments
In 2003, Kaiser Permanente invested $157 million of a committed $3 billion in the design and the early stages of implementation of what is believed to be the largest civilian system of electronic medical records in the United States.
KP HealthConnect is designed to securely link all Kaiser Permanente medical office buildings and hospitals, labs and pharmacies, with medical data about the organization’s members. It will give Kaiser Permanente health care professionals immediate access to complete, up-to-the-minute medical records, including a member’s test or lab results, prescriptions, allergies, past appointments, referrals, and more. Having access to the most current information about their patients will provide clinicians with valuable tools to assist them in providing high-quality service and will result in many benefits in terms of improving health care quality and patient safety, lowering health care costs, and expanding important research opportunities.
As part of its commitment to being a flexible and accessible provider of medical care, Kaiser Permanente is offering new benefit plan options and health care products beyond its traditional health maintenance organization (HMO) plan. New products that include deductibles and co-insurance options are now offered. Future developments will include Health Savings Account (HSA)–compatible deductible plans, payment cards, and other member financial services.
|
||