Kaiser News

Coffee drinkers may be less likely to be hospitalized for heart rhythm disturbances, according to a new study by the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research in Oakland, Calif. The researchers, who note the findings may be surprising because patients frequently report palpitations after drinking coffee, are presenting the study at the American Heart Association's 50th Annual Conference on Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention in San Francisco on March 5, 2010.

Kaiser Permanente, the nation's leading health care provider and not-for-profit health plan, received 12 Stage 7 Awards from the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society. The Stage 7 Award honors hospitals that have achieved the highest level electronic health record implementation. The 12 awards were presented at the HIMSS 2010 annual conference in Atlanta, Georgia.

Kaiser Permanente announced today that every medical facility within the health system is now equipped with Kaiser Permanente HealthConnect(R), the largest private sector electronic health record in the world. Kaiser Permanente hospitals in Oakland, Richmond and Vallejo in Northern California are the most recent facilities to complete the final phase of electronic health record implementation, which includes bedside documentation, clinical decision support and bar-coding for medication administration.

The Nolo Press book, 'Healthy Employees, Healthy Business,' offers small business owners advice on creating and maintaining effective workplace wellness programs.

Women who gain excessive weight during pregnancy, especially in the first trimester, may increase their risk of developing diabetes later in their pregnancy, according to a study by the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research that appears online in the current issue of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Dr. Cochran, executive director of The Permanente Federation, talked to the National Governors Association about transforming health care delivery and the potential of integrated delivery systems.

Kaiser Permanente has been honored in Fast Company's annual Most Innovative Companies issue as the fifth Most Innovative Health Care Company in the World for its pioneering electronic health record that is the world's largest civilian electronic health record, and for its health care innovation center that develops the future of health care.

Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc., Kaiser Foundation Hospitals and their subsidiaries (KFHP/H) reported today a combined total operating revenue of $10.6 billion for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2009, compared to $10.0 billion in the same period in 2008. Operating income was $214 million, equal to two percent of revenue, in the fourth quarter of 2009, compared to $108 million in the same quarter of the prior year. Net non-operating income was $276 million in the fourth quarter of 2009, compared to a net non-operating loss of $1.1 billion in the same quarter of 2008. As a result, net income for the fourth quarter was $490 million, versus a net loss of $996 million in the same period of 2008. These represent the combined operating results for Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc., Kaiser Foundation Hospitals and their subsidiaries.

Kaiser Permanente, one of America's leading health care providers and nonprofit health plans, announced today it approved 500 grants and donations nationwide totaling $90 million in the fourth quarter of 2009. In total, Kaiser Permanente approved $170 million in grants and donations to support efforts to keep people healthy during these tough economic times.

Kaiser Permanente Southern California received the most stars - eight of a possible eight - in the overall ratings of the just released 2009 HMO Quality Report from the California Office of the Patient Advocate. That's the first time in the nine-year history of the report that any health plan has received all eight possible stars in the HMO Ratings At-a-Glance section of the report. Kaiser Permanente's Southern California region received four stars for meeting national standards of care and four stars for the member ranking of care and services.

For the second consecutive year, Kaiser Permanente Northern California is the only health plan in California to earn a four-star rating for quality of care in the 2010 Healthcare Quality Report Card from the California Office of the Patient Advocate (OPA).

Kaiser Permanente is a founding partner of the Partnership for a Healthier America, a nonpartisan convener across the private, nonprofit and public sectors to accelerate efforts to address childhood obesity. The foundation seeks to facilitate First Lady Michelle Obama's national initiative to 'curb childhood obesity within a generation.'

An organization only a few miles away from the nation's capitol is making strides in the fight against childhood obesity, in partnership with Kaiser Permanente's Healthy Eating Active Living approach.

Close to 6,000 Kaiser Permanente employees and physicians nationwide spent Martin Luther King Jr. day performing community service tasks ranging from sorting food to planting sustainable gardens. This slideshow features snapshots from several community service efforts..

Michael Horberg, MD, director of HIV/AIDS for Kaiser Permanente of the Mid-Atlantic States and a research scientist at the Division of Research in Oakland, was appointed this week to the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS. The council provides advice and recommendations to President Obama and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.