Kaiser Permanente news from FierceHealthIT

Kaiser Permanente well along the way on its plans to build a new, 314-bed hospital in Fontana, CA--but this time, it hopes to do something different. Not only is Kaiser focused on building a green Read more...

The PHR war between Google, Microsoft and rivals seems to have reached a new stage, with Google and Microsoft scoring major insurance partners this week. Google Health has just recruited its first Read more...

Kaiser has put the finishing touches on a major phase of its costly, high-profile EMR project, giving all of its 8.7 million enrollees and 13,000 physicians access to its outpatient system. To date, Read more...

As regular readers know, I regularly lambaste RHIOs/HIEs, most of which appear to have little chance of financial survival. However, when it comes to a RHIO that attracts the support of a giant like Read more...

When it comes to EMRs, big healthcare organizations have a big, nasty problem on their hands. The problem? While they pretty much have to invest in an EMR system to stay competitive, by most IT Read more...

> Kaiser Permanente is laying off roughly 100 people in its 5,600-member IT department response to unspecified "changing technology needs." Read more...

So you think you're facing interoperability headaches? Try this project on for size. According to reps from the U.S. Department of Defense and the VA, the two have been struggling to share complete Read more...

So, it's no surprise, but hey, numbers are worth something. New research from the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research has concluded that when physicians and patients engage in email correspondence, patients are 7 percent to 10 percent less likely to see physicians for office visits. These patients also cut back on office phone calls by 14 percent. Kaiser didn't seem to draw any conclusions on …

Read more...

After months of being in a holding pattern, Kaiser Permanente has hired a new, permanent top technology leader to stabilize its troubled IT organization.

Philip Fasano, former CEO of Capital Sourcing Group, is now vice president and chief information officer. He takes over from Bruce Turkstra, who served as interim IT chief after Cliff Dodd resigned in November. Dodd left practically overnight after a …

Read more...

CMS is partnering with a group of health plans for a program designed to encourage Medicare beneficiaries to use PHRs. True, CMS already offers the PHRs to patients with Medicare Advantage and/or Medicare Part D coverage, through its www.mymedicare.gov site. But the new program, whose participants include HIP USA, Humana, Kaiser Permanente and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, hopes to …

Read more...