Kaiser Permanente Honored for Electronic Health Record Implementation

HIMSS Analytics Awards Another 11 Kaiser Permanente Hospitals Highest Recognition

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Feb 22, 2011, 10:08 ET

OAKLAND, Calif., Feb. 22, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Kaiser Permanente, the nation's leading health care provider and not-for-profit health plan, continues to lead the nation in the number of Stage 7 Awards from the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society. The Stage 7 Award honors hospitals that have achieved the highest level of electronic health record implementation. In the last three years, Kaiser Permanente has now received a total of 35 awards in recognition of its health information technology expertise. The 11 additional awards were presented this week at the HIMSS 2011 annual conference in Orlando, Fla.

Kaiser Permanente is known for leadership in the use of health information technology and its groundbreaking electronic health record, Kaiser Permanente HealthConnect®, which is the largest private-sector EHR in the world. KP HealthConnect enables all of Kaiser Permanente's more than 15,000 physicians to electronically access the medical records of all of Kaiser Permanente's 8.7 million members nationwide and serves as a model for other systems.

"We have made a lot of progress in health IT over the past year, including reaching full implementation of our electronic health record, Kaiser Permanente HealthConnect®, and it is an honor to be recognized for that accomplishment with additional Stage 7 Awards," said Phil Fasano, executive vice president and chief information officer, Kaiser Permanente. "The Stage 7 Awards value the important role of health IT in improving care and the overall patient experience, the same goals we had in mind when beginning the KP HealthConnect project."

HIMSS Analytics developed the electronic medical record adoption model as a methodology for evaluating the progress and impact of electronic medical record systems for acute care delivery environments. There are a total of 8 stages (0-7) on the EMR Adoption Model with the ultimate goal of reaching Stage 7. With a paperless environment, Stage 7 hospitals are recognized for operating in an environment where clinical data is used for performance improvement and analytics of care delivery.

The honors are part of long list of Kaiser Permanente accomplishments in health IT in 2010. Kaiser Permanente expanded its interoperability pilot with the Veterans Administration to include Hampton Roads, VA., as well as San Diego. Additionally, Kaiser Permanente donated its Convergent Medical Terminology to the international health care community last year to encourage the broader adoption of electronic health records and help U.S. providers achieve meaningful use.

The following Kaiser Permanente hospitals, one in Oregon and 10 in California, were honored this year for reaching Stage 7:

Kaiser Permanente Sunnyside (Clackamas, Ore.) Medical Center
Kaiser Permanente Anaheim Medical Center
Kaiser Permanente Fontana Medical Center
Kaiser Permanente Moreno Valley Community Hospital
Kaiser Permanente Oakland Medical Center
Kaiser Permanente Richmond Medical Center
Kaiser Permanente Riverside Medical Center
Kaiser Permanente San Diego Medical Center
Kaiser Permanente West Los Angeles Medical Center
Kaiser Permanente Woodland Hills Medical Center
Kaiser Permanente Vallejo Medical Center

For a full listing of Stage 7 Award winners, go to www.himss.org.

In addition to its leadership in EHR implementation, Kaiser Permanente's personal health record, My Health Manager, is being used by more and more members to engage their care teams and become actively involved in their health care. More than 3.3 million Kaiser Permanente members now have access to secure health information management features, including online appointment scheduling and prescription refills, lab test results, eligibility and benefits information, and even children's immunization records. In 2010 alone, Kaiser Permanente members viewed more than 25.8 million test results and sent nearly 10.7 million emails to their physicians using My Health Manager.

To see Kaiser Permanente members, physicians and employees talk about KP HealthConnect, go to www.youtube.com/kaiserpermanenteorg.

About Kaiser Permanente

Kaiser Permanente is committed to helping shape the future of health care. We are recognized as one of America's leading health care providers and not-for-profit health plans. Founded in 1945, our mission is to provide high-quality, affordable health care services and to improve the health of our members and the communities we serve. We currently serve 8.7 million members in nine states and the District of Columbia. Care for members and patients is focused on their total health and guided by their personal physicians, specialists and team of caregivers. Our expert and caring medical teams are empowered and supported by industry-leading technology advances and tools for health promotion, disease prevention, state-of-the art care delivery and world-class chronic disease management. Kaiser Permanente is dedicated to care innovations, clinical research, health education and the support of community health. For more information, go to: www.kp.org/newscenter.

SOURCE Kaiser Permanente