Press Releases: Northern California
February 9, 2010
Kaiser Permanente Maintains the Highest Score on the State’s Annual Clinical Quality Report Card
California Office of the Patient Advocate rates California managed-care plans on a wide variety of clinical and service measures
OAKLAND, Calif. — For the second consecutive year, Kaiser Permanente 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).
The annual ratings, available at www.HealthCareQuality.ca.gov, provide California consumers with side-by-side comparisons of health plans, ranking them on a number of standard-of-care measures that have both immediate and long-term implications on personal health.
Kaiser Permanente Northern California and Southern California earned the highest four-star marks in the report’s overall comparison of clinical performance, including perfect marks in asthma and lung care, checking for cancer, Chlamydia screenings, and diabetes, heart, maternity and mental health care.
In the Checking for Cancer category, Kaiser Permanente Northern California had a three percent increase in breast cancer screenings, a two percent increase in cervical cancer screenings and a 16 percent increase in colorectal cancer screenings, earning an additional star in this year’s ranking over the 2009 results.
Additionally, Kaiser Permanente Northern California saw significant increases in their diabetes care and heart care results, and continued to improve its scores in many of the OPA’s customer service categories, including doctor communication, coordinated care, health promotion and receiving care easily.
“These four-star ratings are another testament to the high level of care delivered by our physicians, nurses and staff members,” said Gregory A. Adams, president of Kaiser Foundation Health Plan/Hospitals, Inc., in Northern California. “Kaiser Permanente is recognized as a health care leader in prevention and quality care, and we strive to continuously improve the work we do, so we can further enhance health and well-being of our patients and the communities we serve.”
Robert Pearl, executive director and CEO of The Permanente Medical Group, said, “This report demonstrates the superior clinical outcomes patients can achieve through Kaiser Permanente. We provide 21st century health care to more than 3 million patients — care that is fully integrated, prepaid and technologically advanced. As a result we have lowered the chances of our patients dying from heart disease 30 percent below the community around us, reduced the chances of patients dying from sepsis by more than 40 percent, and dramatically reduced the risk of cancer.”
The OPA ratings follow several other recent honors received by Kaiser Permanente:
- Kaiser Permanente Northern California achieved “Excellent” accreditation for its Commercial HMO Product in the 2009 Health Plan Report Card of the National Committee for Quality Assurance (ncqa.org).
- Kaiser Permanente Northern California was the top-ranked commercial health plan in California in the U.S. News & World Report/NCQA “America’s Best Health Plans 2009–10” survey and was ranked among the top 50 commercial health plans in the nation (usnews.com).
- Kaiser Permanente Northern California’s scores ranked above average on 48 of 60 measures of quality and exceeded the 90th percentile on 33 measures in the 2009 Report on Quality released by the California Cooperative Healthcare Reporting Initiative (cchri.org).
- Permanente Medical Groups in 15 areas throughout northern California were among those ranked as “Top Performers” by the Integrated Health Association (iha.org).
- Kaiser Permanente had the “Highest Member Satisfaction among Commercial Health Plans in California,” according to J.D. Power and Associates 2009 National Health Insurance Plan Study (jdpower.com).
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. In 2008, Kaiser Permanente proudly directed approximately $1.17 billion to support community benefit programs and services through research, community-based health partnerships, and direct health coverage for low-income families and collaboration with community clinics, health departments and public hospitals. For more information, go to www.kp.org/newscenter.
