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••Summer 2000 / Vol 4, No 3 |
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Health Systems Commentary:
Kaiser PermanenteRecognizing the Importance of Women Women's health stepped into the spotlight during the last decade of the 20th century, impacting the legislative, scientific, and political arenas. We applaud the efforts to change drive-by deliveries and mastectomies; the energy that has put breast cancer on the national agenda; the increased spending on women's health research and access; and the formation of Women's Health Offices at the National Institutes of Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Food and Drug Administration.1-4 But now women's health is truly coming into its own, focusing on all aspects of female health as a woman moves through each stage of lifeadolescence, reproductive years, midlife, and older adulthood. The health care industry is taking women's health seriously by developing stategies to tackle immunologic diseases such as HIV; osteoporosis; neurologic conditions, and psychologic problems, all prevalent among women5,6; cardiovascular disease, thought to be the province of men and now known to manifest itself and respond to treatment differently in women; and pervasive, often life-threatening issues such as domestic violence and sexual abuse, formerly considered nonmedical problems. Kaiser Permanente (KP) has certainly put women's health on the map. We would be remiss if we underestimated the importance of women as the primary health care consumer and the economic power they wield as the key decision-makers in health care purchases for their families.7 For these reasons, we have developed task forces in several regions to change how we deliver care to women. We have conducted market research to determine what women want and value in health care.8-10 We have committed ourselves to improving health outcomes for women and easing their burden as the chief health care coordinator and caregiver for their families.7 KP's integrated health care model targeting population-based medicine,11 emphasizing prevention, and relying on state-of-the-art information technology and robust research creates the framework for setting the standard in women's health and the delivery of health care to women and their families.
References 1. NIH Office of Research on Women's Health. http://www4.od.nih.gov/orwh/ [Accessed June 21, 2000]. 2. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Office of Women's Health. http://nhic-nt.health.org/Scripts/Entry.cfm [Accessed May 23, 2000]. 3. Department of Health and Human Services. Office on Women's Health. http://www.4women.gov/owh/index.htm [Accessed May 24, 2000]. 4. Food and Drug Administration, Office of Women's Health. http://www.fda.gov/womens/default.htm [Accessed May 24, 2000]. 5. Wentz AC. Women's health issues. Adv Intern Med 1995;40:1-30. 6. Affonso DD, Lovett S, Paul S, Shepak S, Nussbaum R, Newman L, et al. Dysphoric distress in childbearing women. J Perinatol 1992 Dec;12(4):325-32. 7. Rodin J, Ickovics JR. Women's health. Review and research agenda as we approach the 21st century. Am Psychol 1990 Sep;45(9):1018-34. 8. Thompson M, Nussbaum R. An HMO survey on mass customization of healthcare delivery for women. Women's Health Issues 2000 Jan-Feb;10(1):10-9. 9. Thompson M, Nussbaum R. Asking women to see nurses or unfamiliar physicians as part of primary care redesign. Am J Manag Care 2000 Feb;6(2):187-99. 10. Schmittdiel J, Selby JV, Grumbach K, Quesenberry CP Jr. Women's provider preferences for basic gynecology care in a large health maintenance organization. J Women's Health Gend Based Med 1999 Jul-Aug;8(6):825-33. 11. Juhn P, Solomon N, Pettay H. Care management: the next level of innovation for Kaiser Permanente. Permanente J 1998 Spring;2(2):38-43; http://pkc.kp.org. To Health Systems Index | To Next Health Systems Article
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