Kaiser Permanente Embraces Technology As Company Strives For Better Patient Experience
The Wall Street Journal talks with Dick Daniels, the company’s chief information officer, about the technology push and what's coming in the future.
The Wall Street Journal:
Kaiser Permanente Cultivates The Digital Doctor-Patient Relationship
Kaiser Permanente, based in Oakland, Calif., closely manages the medical care of people enrolled in its health-insurance plan, who use Kaiser’s integrated network of hospitals and doctors. Increasingly, that network is also a digital one. In the past year, the percentage of Kaiser’s insurance enrollees who used its online prescription refill, scheduling and laboratory-result tools climbed, as did use of secure emails between Kaiser and its patients. The company also is redesigning its hospitals, using technology to make patient visits more efficient, from the check-in process to the interaction between doctors and patients. Doctors also have access to a platform that enables video consultations with patients. Virtual interactions with patients rose to 59% of total interactions last year from 56% in 2015, as total interactions grew to 131 million from 113 million, according to Kaiser. (Evans, 5/28)