Press Releases: National
March 28, 2002
Kaiser Permanente Web sites win two awards from the World Wide Web Health Awards
OAKLAND, Calif. – Kaiser Permanente's members-only Web site and its national public portal garnered bronze and silver awards, respectively, in the Health Promotion/Disease and Injury Prevention Information category of the World Wide Web Health Awards program.
Sponsored by the Health Information Resource Center (HIRC), the semiannual awards program establishes a seal of quality for consumer health information published on the Internet and helps consumers and health professionals decide which sites offer accurate, up-to-date health information. HIRC, a national clearinghouse for consumer health programs and materials, also organizes the annual non-Web-based National Health Information Awards.
"The physicians and staff of Kaiser Permanente are proud of our excellent Internet sites which provide a comprehensive selection of information for the general public, and medical services for our patients," says Robert Pearl, MD, executive director and chief executive officer of The Permanente Medical Group. "Our members-only site connects to our unique integrated health care delivery system. By combining the power of the Internet with outstanding physicians and centers of excellence, we are able to provide consistent, quality medical care to our patients."
Pearl adds, "Our members should be confident whether they are receiving care in our offices and hospitals, or accessing information and services on the Internet they are receiving up-to-date, quality medical information and personalized care that they can trust."
Kaiser Permanente's entries were among a total of 87, judged by 17 distinguished health care and information technology professionals. "We're happy to see that many repeat entrants have achieved higher awards in subsequent award programs," says Chris Behrand, program director. "Our returning judges say that the quality of sites has improved over the years."
Entries were judged on the following criteria:
- Content evaluation looks at how credible, comprehensive, clear, relevant, and appropriate the information is.
- Creative format evaluates overall design and layout, whether it is user-friendly, if visuals are relevant to the subject matter, if the site employs newer technologies to enhance the user experience, and if the site maintains a consistent personality.
- Overall assessment considers information quality and depth, site design and structure, ability to attract and retain users' attention, use of interactive technologies, and significance to overall public health interests.
The WWW Health Awards evaluate Web sites in four classes: Health Promotion/Disease and Injury Prevention Information, Patient Education Information, Advertising/Marketing Information, and Miscellaneous/Professional for both consumer and professional audiences. Organizations, including HMO/managed care systems, pharmaceutical companies, hospitals, government agencies, and allied health professionals, are eligible to submit Web site, portal site, Intranet, and Extranet entries. In addition, special awards are granted for best graphic design, site navigation/structure, interaction, innovation, and electronic commerce. Submissions are judged on a 100-point scale, ranging from poor to excellent/outstanding; each site is scored on its own merit.
This is the third year that Kaiser Permanente has participated and won awards in the World Wide Web Health Awards. In 1999, both Kaiser Permanente's national public portal and the members-only Web site won silver awards in the Health Promotion/Disease and Injury Prevention Information class, HMO Managed Care System division award. In 2000, the members-only Web site won the bronze award in the Health Promotion/Disease and Injury Prevention Information class, HMO Managed Care System division award.
Kaiser Foundation Health Plan (KFHP) is America's largest nonprofit health plan. Founded more than 50 years ago, with headquarters in Oakland, California, KFHP serves the health care needs of 8.2 million members, primarily on a prepayment basis. Kaiser Permanente is the trade name for the organizations that comprise the Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program. These organizations consist of Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc., Kaiser Foundation Hospitals, their subsidiaries, and the Permanente Medical Groups, independent physician group practices that contract with KFHP and its health plan subsidiaries to provide or arrange medical services for KFHP members. Nationwide, Kaiser Permanente includes about 90,000 technical, administrative, and clerical employees and about 11,000 physicians representing all specialties.
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.
