Kaiser admits its doctors have been failing to
diagnose cases
New plan expected to save 15.000 lives over a decade
How unit-based teams help save lives
KP’s Proactive Office Encounter makes a difference in the lives of patients and members
THURSDAY, APRIL 1, 2010
Jeffrey Weisz, MD
How to save 1,500 lives a year by making the most of routine patient care? It’s called the
Proactive Office Encounter. It has earned recognition inside and outside Kaiser
Permanente for the Southern California region, which piloted the process. And it’s
possible only because KP can use its coordinated model of care, electronic medical
records and frontline teams to identify care gaps and provide needed tests, treatment or
information before, during and after each patient visit.
HIGHLIGHTED STORIES OR TOOLS
1,500 Lives Saved [poster] [This link disabled as of Sept. 1, 2011]
“We did this through teams, unit-based teams. They provided the infrastructure,” said
Jeffrey Weisz, MD, executive director, Southern California Permanente Medical Group, at
last month’s presentation of Kaiser Permanente’s James A. Vohs Award for Quality.
Measuring results
The Proactive Office Encounter is used across the Southern California region and has
measurably improved the lives of KP members, including in cancer screening (18.5%
increase in colorectal cancer screening), blood pressure control (12.2% increase for ages
18 to 85), cardiac health, diabetes, asthma management, and tobacco cessation (17%
increase in advice to quit smoking).
UBTs open up lines of communication and trust between staff, managers and physicians.
—Ozzie Martinez
Sharing stories
Stories of KP members whose lived were saved thanks to early intervention drive home
the impact of preventive, team-based care. “Every time I hear one of these stories—and
we hear them more and more frequently—I think of the potential for saving lives,” said
Weisz.
“Having unit-based teams gives us a way to not only optimize the patient encounter and
the patient experience but also continuously improve and sustain the changes we make,”
said Ozzie Martinez, assistant medical group administrator at South Bay Medical Center,
who led the early implementation of the program. “The fact is, people are empowered and
engaged to do great work, and UBTs open up lines of communication and trust between
staff, managers and physicians.”
The proactive program now is spreading to other KP regions, and according to Paul
Minardi, MD, medical director, regional operations, is expected to save more than 15,000
in the next decade in Southern California alone. In the end, that’s what unit-based teams
are all about.
diagnose cases
New plan expected to save 15.000 lives over a decade
How unit-based teams help save lives
KP’s Proactive Office Encounter makes a difference in the lives of patients and members
THURSDAY, APRIL 1, 2010
Jeffrey Weisz, MD
How to save 1,500 lives a year by making the most of routine patient care? It’s called the
Proactive Office Encounter. It has earned recognition inside and outside Kaiser
Permanente for the Southern California region, which piloted the process. And it’s
possible only because KP can use its coordinated model of care, electronic medical
records and frontline teams to identify care gaps and provide needed tests, treatment or
information before, during and after each patient visit.
HIGHLIGHTED STORIES OR TOOLS
1,500 Lives Saved [poster] [This link disabled as of Sept. 1, 2011]
“We did this through teams, unit-based teams. They provided the infrastructure,” said
Jeffrey Weisz, MD, executive director, Southern California Permanente Medical Group, at
last month’s presentation of Kaiser Permanente’s James A. Vohs Award for Quality.
Measuring results
The Proactive Office Encounter is used across the Southern California region and has
measurably improved the lives of KP members, including in cancer screening (18.5%
increase in colorectal cancer screening), blood pressure control (12.2% increase for ages
18 to 85), cardiac health, diabetes, asthma management, and tobacco cessation (17%
increase in advice to quit smoking).
UBTs open up lines of communication and trust between staff, managers and physicians.
—Ozzie Martinez
Sharing stories
Stories of KP members whose lived were saved thanks to early intervention drive home
the impact of preventive, team-based care. “Every time I hear one of these stories—and
we hear them more and more frequently—I think of the potential for saving lives,” said
Weisz.
“Having unit-based teams gives us a way to not only optimize the patient encounter and
the patient experience but also continuously improve and sustain the changes we make,”
said Ozzie Martinez, assistant medical group administrator at South Bay Medical Center,
who led the early implementation of the program. “The fact is, people are empowered and
engaged to do great work, and UBTs open up lines of communication and trust between
staff, managers and physicians.”
The proactive program now is spreading to other KP regions, and according to Paul
Minardi, MD, medical director, regional operations, is expected to save more than 15,000
in the next decade in Southern California alone. In the end, that’s what unit-based teams
are all about.
San Diego
Education Report
Education Report
Kaiser Permanente
news/cases
Kaiser Permanente executives
Urology score card: x-rays on
thermal paper, missing x-rays
news/cases
Kaiser Permanente executives
Urology score card: x-rays on
thermal paper, missing x-rays
I am glad Kaiser has worked to improve the dismal survival rates of patients, but it seems
to be playing the percentages. It seems to want to give appropriate treatment to the
patients who can be treated cheaply, or to the most common and most easily diagnosed
conditions. It has NOT changed its habits of giving little time or effort to patients who are
not easily diagnosed or treated.
Also, Kaiser's secrecy about its failures, and unnecessary patient deaths, needs to be
changed.
to be playing the percentages. It seems to want to give appropriate treatment to the
patients who can be treated cheaply, or to the most common and most easily diagnosed
conditions. It has NOT changed its habits of giving little time or effort to patients who are
not easily diagnosed or treated.
Also, Kaiser's secrecy about its failures, and unnecessary patient deaths, needs to be
changed.
Kaiser has worked to improve its dismal survival
rates
rates
Kaiser Permanente Adopts QI Macros for Improvement
Advisor Training
SF Gate.com
September 15, 2011
KnowWare International Inc. announces that Kaiser Permanente, which serves 8.8 million
members in nine states and the District of Columbia, has selected the QI Macros Lean Six
Sigma SPC Software for their quality Improvement Advisor training.
Denve, CO (PRWEB) September 15, 2011
KnowWare International Inc. announces that Kaiser Permanente, which serves 8.8 million
members in nine states and the District of Columbia, has selected the QI Macros Lean Six
Sigma SPC Software for their quality Improvement Advisor training. Students will learn how
to form and lead Six Sigma-like improvement projects. Each student will be expected to
complete a project focused on improving quality of care; reducing costs or expanding
patient or customer satisfaction. Improvement Advisor Training originated at the Institute
for Healthcare Improvement (IHI), a non-profit focused on improving healthcare.
The QI Macros Lean Six Sigma SPC Software works in Excel 2000-2011 in Windows XP,
Vista, Windows 7, and Mac OS X and is available for immediate download. The QI Macros
have been simplifying process improvement and Lean Six Sigma for tens of thousands of
customers since 1996. Thousands of hospitals use the QI Macros to improve clinical
outcomes and patient flow by tracking critical measures like patient falls, medication
errors, and so on. Thousands of businesses ranging from automotive suppliers to state
and the Veterans Adminstration use the QI Macros to help reduce costs and boost
productivity and profitability.
Advisor Training
SF Gate.com
September 15, 2011
KnowWare International Inc. announces that Kaiser Permanente, which serves 8.8 million
members in nine states and the District of Columbia, has selected the QI Macros Lean Six
Sigma SPC Software for their quality Improvement Advisor training.
Denve, CO (PRWEB) September 15, 2011
KnowWare International Inc. announces that Kaiser Permanente, which serves 8.8 million
members in nine states and the District of Columbia, has selected the QI Macros Lean Six
Sigma SPC Software for their quality Improvement Advisor training. Students will learn how
to form and lead Six Sigma-like improvement projects. Each student will be expected to
complete a project focused on improving quality of care; reducing costs or expanding
patient or customer satisfaction. Improvement Advisor Training originated at the Institute
for Healthcare Improvement (IHI), a non-profit focused on improving healthcare.
The QI Macros Lean Six Sigma SPC Software works in Excel 2000-2011 in Windows XP,
Vista, Windows 7, and Mac OS X and is available for immediate download. The QI Macros
have been simplifying process improvement and Lean Six Sigma for tens of thousands of
customers since 1996. Thousands of hospitals use the QI Macros to improve clinical
outcomes and patient flow by tracking critical measures like patient falls, medication
errors, and so on. Thousands of businesses ranging from automotive suppliers to state
and the Veterans Adminstration use the QI Macros to help reduce costs and boost
productivity and profitability.