Press Releases: Mid-Atlantic States
October 13, 2010
Kaiser Permanente of the Mid-Atlantic States Introduces a State-of-the-Art Mobile Health Vehicle
Electronic Health Records, Telemedicine, and Health Screenings on Wheels Expand Access to Health Care for Members and Community
ROCKVILLE, Md. — Kaiser Permanente of the Mid-Atlantic States, one of the area’s leading health care providers and not-for-profit health plan, is unveiling a new generation of mobile health services to the region. It comes in the form of a state-of-the-art Mobile Health Vehicle, designed to mirror a small medical center on wheels.
The Mobile Health VehicleView full image >
The new Mobile Health Vehicle with the side flap raised and stairs loweredView larger image >
The Mobile Health Vehicle will be staffed by a nurse practitioner, a medical assistant, and with physician services. It will be equipped with two exam rooms including areas for patient intake and health education, as well as with computers wired with Kaiser Permanente HealthConnect®, Kaiser Permanente’s electronic health record system. The Mobile Health Vehicle will bring electronic care support services and connectivity directly to members at a number of venues throughout the region. In addition to the real-time update capabilities of KP HealthConnect the mobile health team can conduct video consultations with specialists. This exemplifies how coordinating health care and leveraging the power of advanced information technologies allows Kaiser Permanente’s mobile health team to achieve superior quality outcomes.
“This new, multi-featured mobile vehicle exemplifies how Kaiser Permanente leverages integration, quality, and innovation to meet the health care needs of our members and our communities,” said Marilyn Kawamura, president, Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of the Mid-Atlantic States, Inc.
The Mobile Health Vehicle will increase and expand access to critical health care services, including a broad range of screenings, such as blood pressure checks, BMI, glucose and cholesterol monitoring, and depression screening, in addition to immunizations, health education, and some chronic disease management, for Kaiser Permanente members and uninsured patients who would otherwise lack access to these services.
According to Robert Pearl, MD, president and CEO of the Mid-Atlantic Permanente Medical Group, P.C., “Our Mobile Health Vehicle will allow us to bring Kaiser Permanente’s state-of-the-art, high-quality, technologically advanced personal health care and preventive services to members where they work and where they live. Combining this with Kaiser Permanente’s cutting edge Internet-based tools and comprehensive electronic medical record allows patient to obtain the care they need in the most convenient and rapid ways possible.”
With the Mobile Health Vehicle, Kaiser Permanente of the Mid-Atlantic States is furthering its commitment to healthy communities by taking prevention and health care on the road to members and the community.
About Kaiser Permanente of the Mid-Atlantic States
Kaiser Permanente of the Mid-Atlantic States region, headquartered in Rockville, Maryland, provides and coordinates complete health care services for almost 500,000 members through 30 medical office buildings in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. Kaiser Permanente of the Mid-Atlantic States, founded in 1980, is a total health organization composed of Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of the Mid-Atlantic States, Inc., and the Mid-Atlantic Permanente Medical Group, P.C., an independent medical group that features approximately 1,000 physicians who provide or arrange care for patients throughout the area. Kaiser Permanente of the Mid-Atlantic States is considered one of Maryland’s “Top HMOs,” according to the Maryland Health Care Commission. The health plan was ranked in the nation’s 100 top commercial health plans and 15 top Medicare health plans — and the #1 Medicare plan for Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. — by the U.S. News & World Report/NCQA’s “America’s Best Health Insurance Plans 2009–10.” In addition, it was recently named “Highest in Member Satisfaction,” among Commercial Health Plans by J.D. Power and Associates. For more information about Kaiser Permanente of the Mid-Atlantic States, visit www.kp.org.
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 8.6 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.
