Kaiser Permanente of Georgia Leads the Nation in Breast Cancer Screening

NCQA Reports Kaiser Permanente of Georgia's Health Plan has Highest Rates in the Country for Mammograms

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Oct 21, 2010, 04:00 ET

ATLANTA, Oct. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- Kaiser Permanente of Georgia leads the nation in mammography screenings, according to the National Committee on Quality Assurance's (NCQA) Quality Compass® report for 2010. The data provided by the private, non-profit organization dedicated to improving health care quality, found that among all reporting health plans across the nation, Kaiser Permanente of Georgia has the highest breast cancer screening rate for eligible women age 42 to 69.

"Early detection of breast cancer can mean the difference between life and death," explained Rob Schreiner, M.D., executive medical director of The Southeast Permanente Medical Group. "This ranking means that women in Georgia who trust Kaiser Permanente for their care are more likely to survive breast cancer, and that's something we are extremely proud of. We are committed to ensuring that our members receive the preventive care services they need, and our technology enables us to reach out to patients and encourage this critical aspect of care."

The 2010 Quality Compass report showed that, of all reporting health plans, Kaiser Permanente of Georgia had the highest breast cancer screening rate in the nation, with 90.04 percent of eligible women age 42 to 69, or more than 36,750 patients, receiving their recommended mammograms. The national average is 71.31 percent. Kaiser Permanente of Georgia also led the nation in Chlamydia screening for all ages.

Kaiser Permanente's electronic medical record, Kaiser Permanente HealthConnect®, flags the record of any woman who is due for a mammogram. This record is accessible to all Kaiser Permanente physicians and clinical support staff in Georgia. When a member comes in for a visit, every clinical professional from the nurses to the physicians — even those in dermatology, ophthalmology, or any other specialty — can remind the patient that she is due for a mammogram.

Kaiser Permanente continues to proactively reach out to members who miss their mammograms with follow-up letters, reminders and personal phone calls. A study published by Kaiser Permanente's Center for Health Research in the August 2009 issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine found that a reminder program aimed at screening for breast cancer boosted mammography rates by more than 17 percent.

NCQA accredits and certifies a wide range of health care organizations and manages the evolution of HEDIS®, the performance tool used by more than 90 percent of the nation's health plans. Consumers can easily access organization's NCQA Accreditation, Certification statuses and Recognition statuses and other information on health care quality on NCQA's Web site at www.ncqa.org/reportcards.aspx, or by calling NCQA Customer Support at (888) 275-7585.

*The source for data contained in this publication is Quality Compass® 2010 and is used with the permission of the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA). Quality Compass 2010 includes certain CAHPS data. Any data display, analysis, interpretation, or conclusion based on these data is solely that of the authors, and NCQA specifically disclaims responsibility for any such display, analysis, interpretation, or conclusion. Quality Compass is a registered trademark of NCQA. CAHPS® is a registered trademark of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).

HEDIS is a registered trademark of NCQA.

About Kaiser Permanente of Georgia

Kaiser Permanente is Georgia's largest not-for-profit health plan. Its mission is to provide high quality, affordable health care services to improve the health of its members and the communities it serves. Kaiser Permanente serves more than 230,000 members in a 28-county service area in metro-Atlanta with care focused on their total health and guided by their personal physicians, specialists, and team of health care providers. Expert and caring medical teams are supported by industry-leading technology and tools for health promotion, disease prevention, state-of-the art delivery, and world-class chronic disease management. Nationally, Kaiser Permanente is recognized as one of America's leading health care providers, serving more than 8.6 million members in nine states and the District of Columbia. For more information, visit www.kp.org.

About NCQA

Celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2010, NCQA is a private, non-profit organization dedicated to improving health care quality. NCQA accredits and certifies a wide range of health care organizations. It also recognizes clinicians and practices in key areas of performance. NCQA's Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS®) is the most widely used performance measurement tool in health care. NCQA is committed to providing health care quality information for consumers, purchasers, health care providers and researchers.

SOURCE Kaiser Permanente