Kaiser Permanente Honored for Health IT Innovation with CIO 100 Award

Health care organization uses technology to engage patients and empower care teams

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Jun 16, 2015, 12:00 ET

OAKLAND, Calif., June 16, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Kaiser Permanente recently was honored by IDG's CIO magazine as one of the 2015 CIO 100 award winners for using technology to improve the health care experience for patients and their families.

The health care organization was recognized for two new technologies:

Interactive Patient Care System: Enables hospitalized patients to take control of their environment using the television in their rooms. Patients can order meals at their leisure, watch educational videos or on-demand movies, browse the Internet, prepare for discharge and more. The system improves patient satisfaction and is associated with reduced readmissions.
Real Time Location System: The robust RFID (radio frequency identification) technology enables care providers to track and quickly locate more than 140,000 moveable devices and equipment used in hospitals and medical offices — from wheelchairs to sonogram machines — saving them valuable time that they can spend with patients.

"We work hard every day to keep our members healthy, but if you visit our offices or need to be admitted into the hospital, we want you to have the best experience possible," said Dick Daniels, executive vice president and chief information officer, Kaiser Permanente. "These innovations enable patients to take a more active role in their care and give our clinicians more time to focus on our patients."

Kaiser Permanente is widely recognized for its leadership in harnessing health IT to improve quality and care delivery. Kaiser Permanente HealthConnect®, the health care organization's electronic health record, is one of the most robust and sophisticated systems in the nation. It securely connects more than 10 million people to their health care teams and their personal health information — taking advantage of Kaiser Permanente's integrated approach to health care.

Kaiser Permanente's patient portal, My Health Manager on kp.org, is directly connected to KP HealthConnect. By providing members with 24/7 online access to their health information and critical, time-saving tools, such as online appointment scheduling, prescription refill and secure email messaging with doctors, Kaiser Permanente empowers members to manage their health care and the health care of their family members.

More than 4.9 million members are registered for My Health Manager on kp.org. In 2014 alone, members:

Sent 20 million emails to physicians and other care providers
Viewed 37.4 million test results online
Refilled 17.5 million prescriptions online
Scheduled 4.2 million appointments online

"For 28 years now, the CIO 100 awards have honored the innovative use of technology to deliver genuine business value," said Maryfran Johnson, editor in chief of CIO magazine & events. "Our 2015 winners are an outstanding example of the transformative power of IT to drive everything from revenue growth to competitive advantage."

Kaiser Permanente will be recognized at The CIO 100 Symposium & Awards Ceremony on August 11 in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

About the CIO 100

Recipients of this year's CIO 100 Award were selected through a three-step process. First, companies filled out an online application form detailing their innovative IT and business initiatives. Next, a team of external judges (many of them former CIOs) reviewed the applications in depth, looking for leading-edge IT practices and measurable results. Finally, CIO editors reviewed the judges' recommendations and selected the final 100.

Coverage of the 2015 CIO 100 Awards will be available online at CIO.com on August 1 and in the August issue of CIO magazine.

About CIO

CIO is the premier content and community resource for information technology executives and leaders thriving and prospering in this fast-paced era of IT transformation in the enterprise. The award-winning CIO portfolio--CIO.com, CIO magazine (launched in 1987), CIO executive programs, CIO strategic marketing solutions, CIO Forum on LinkedIn, CIO Executive Council and CIO primary research—provides business technology leaders with analysis and insight on information technology trends and a keen understanding of IT's role in achieving business goals. Additionally, CIO provides opportunities for IT solution providers to reach this executive IT audience. The CIO Executive Council is a professional organization of CIOs created to serve as an unbiased and trusted peer advisory group. CIO is published by IDG Enterprise, a subsidiary of International Data Group (IDG), the world's leading media, events, and research company. Company information is available at www.idgenterprise.com.

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, Kaiser Permanente has a mission to provide high-quality, affordable health care services and to improve the health of our members and the communities we serve. We currently serve more than 10 million members in eight 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 kp.org/share.

Contact:
Amanda Wardell
510-292-0758
[email protected]

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SOURCE Kaiser Permanente