Press Releases: National
June 20, 2006
Kaiser Permanente's "Healthy Lifestyles" Wins Innovations in Healthcare(SM) Award
Online Health Programs Address Obesity, Smoking Cessation, Nutrition & Stress
OAKLAND, Calif. – The Adapted Business Leaders (ABL) organization has awarded the Innovations in Healthcare(SM) Award to Kaiser Permanente for its "Healthy Lifestyles" online programs that offer Kaiser Permanente members web-enabled behavior change interventions around critical health issues such as weight loss, physical fitness, stress reduction and smoking cessation. The programs are highly tailored in that they provide personalized health advice unique to each individual based upon an initial assessment of his or her current health risks, family history, health beliefs, personal goals, motivations, and barriers to success. The programs are also available in Spanish.
The ABL is a nationally-renowned roundtable of CEOs from healthcare or technology companies headquartered along the west coast between San Diego and San Francisco . Their focus is on developing strategies and operations in industries marked by huge waves of change and innovation. Kaiser Permanente’s Internet Services Group won in the Consumer Empowerment category, whose criteria included the significance of the program, scalability of the solution, and performance metrics associated with the solution.
"The online Healthy Lifestyles program empowers our Kaiser Permanente members to achieve real improvement in their health," stated Christine Paige, PhD, senior vice president, marketing and internet services. "It is one more way in which we encourage our members to thrive."
Over 150,000 Kaiser Permanente members have enrolled in these programs since 2004 with outstanding results. For example, 55% of participants enrolled in Balance™ lost weight, 48% dropped 1-point in Body Mass Index ( BMI ), and 27% of obese participations (defined as having a BMI of 30 or higher) lost 5% of their starting body weight. Of these approximately one-third lost 10% of their body weight. Among those enrolled in Breathe™, 54% stopped smoking, and 95% of those who stopped reported high motivation to stay quite. 59% of Relax™ participants reported a decrease in personal symptoms of stress, and 80% of Nourish™ participants reported better nutrition. The great results for members also translate into great results for employer customers. 24% of Balance™ participants who lost greater than 7.5% of their body weight reported an increase in productivity by 12%.
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.
