Insurers
Kaiser Permanente
Kaiser Permanente is a
health insurance company who states they are committed to providing their
members authoritative and reliable health information. To achieve their goal of
providing information that is thorough, well-written, accurate, up-to-date, and
unbiased, they have developed a rigorous set of ethical and editorial standards
and processes for their website at www.kaiser.com.
The information below is about Kaiser Permanente. If you have any questions, suggestions,
or comments, please contact Michael & Hege Insurance Services.
Who Is Kaiser?
Kaiser Permanente is made up of KFHP and Kaiser Foundation Hospitals (both nonprofit,
public benefit corporations), and the Permanente Medical Groups
(for-profit corporations and partnerships). Kaiser Permanente is America's largest
nonprofit health plan, serving more than 8 million members in 9 states and the District
of Columbia. All my clients agree, when your with Kaiser, you either love them,
or you hate them.
What are Kaiser's Health Plans Like?
Kaiser Permanente offers a group of low cost HMO plans to it members. Generally
individuals receive medical care through an approved Kaiser Hospital. In some areas
this means a long trip to the doctors office or hospital. When you are making decisions
about your health care, our commitment is to provide accurate, well-supported, quality
information and services. I encourage you to contact us directly to discuss your
health insurance options. Please call Michael & Hege Insurance Services at 877-758-PLUS
(7587). Earning and maintaining the trust of our clients is essential to our role
as your broker, and part of our service includes explaining the benefits of Kaiser
Permanente health care to you when you are looking for a health insurance plan.
Credible and trustworthy health and service information helps to:
- employ people to make informed choices about their health care
- enable people to work in partnership with their health care providers
- facilitate shared decision-making with health care providers
- encourage appropriate self-care and use of health care services
- improve the quality of life of those with health-related problems
Kaiser is famous for having their insured's see nurses and nurse practitioners rather
than actual doctors. Kaiser also is the epitome of "Gate Keeper"
medicine. Controlling costs comes first, health care second.
Below are some examples of what I mean, this section outlines some of their health
practices which many people find frustrating.
The advice nurses on our "Contact a nurse" feature can provide general
medical information for non urgent questions only. Health care professionals moderating
message boards provide general information only, and do not give personal medical
advice.
They hope that this information will help you to be better able to participate with
your health care providers in making informed decisions about your care. Except
where explicitly stated otherwise, it is not intended as specific medical advice.
It is not a substitute for appropriate professional medical treatment or diagnosis.
The services provided through this Web site are for non urgent purposes only.
If you think you have a medical or psychiatric emergency, call 911 or go to the
nearest hospital. Do not attempt to access emergency care through this Web site.
What is a medical or psychiatric emergency?
An emergency medical condition is a medical or psychiatric condition that manifests
itself by acute symptoms of sufficient severity (including severe pain) such that
you could reasonably expect the absence of immediate medical attention to result
in any of the following:
- serious jeopardy to your health
- serious impairment in your bodily functions
- serious dysfunction of any bodily organ or part
Examples of symptoms that may be an emergency medical condition include the following:
- chest pain or pressure which may radiate to the arms, neck, back, shoulder, jaw,
arm, or wrist
- sudden onset of severe abdominal pain
- severe shortness of breath
- sudden decrease in or loss of consciousness
- sudden inability to talk or to move one side of the body, or sudden slurred speech
- severe, persistent bleeding that cannot be stopped
- major injuries such as gunshot or stab wounds or severe injuries from a vehicle
accident
If you think you are experiencing a medical emergency, call 911 immediately! Do
not attempt to access emergency care through this Web site. If you are not sure
what type of care you need, please call your local medical facility or advice nurse.
What is an urgent symptom?
An urgent care need is one that requires prompt medical attention, usually within
24 to 48 hours, but is not an emergency medical condition. Examples of urgent care
situations include:
- minor injuries
- sore throats and upper respiratory symptoms
- earaches
- coughs
- backaches
- frequent urination or burning sensation when urinating
If you think you have an urgent symptom, please do not send a message to a nurse
through this Web site. Please call your local medical facility or advice nurse.
The environment
They've also taken a leadership role in acting on our responsibility to care for
our environment, incorporating responsible practices into all levels of care delivery.
Kaiser Permanente's environmental initiatives are grouped into three primary areas:
Green buildings
Incorporating sustainable design and construction practices into all new construction
and re-builds.
Environmentally responsible purchasing
Purchasing goods that incorporate post-consumer recycled content, selecting reusable
and durable products and eliminating mercury content.
Sustainable operations
Our energy conservation measures have eliminated millions of pounds of air pollutants
annually. In addition, the aggregate impact of our pollution prevention activities
significantly reduced our purchase and disposal of hazardous chemicals.
Vendor relationships
They will clearly disclose on the site any significant business relationships Between
Kaiser Permanent and other organizations mentioned on our site. They will make reasonable
efforts to determine that companies that provide health content or health-related
services for this Web site abide by appropriate ethical standards of conduct.
Conflict-of-interest policy
To keep our health information as free from bias as possible, they require all Kaiser
Permanente authors, editors, message board moderators, and other content contributors
to this Web site to disclose any potential conflicts of interest they may have.
Possible conflicts of interest include financial relationships or other affiliations
with businesses or organizations that promote or sell products or services that
are the subjects of the health information being considered. If such conflicts of
interest exist, or if there would be a reasonable perception by the public that
a conflict of interest could exist, the person would be excluded from contributing
to that particular topic.
The quality of their health information
The quality of health information on this Web site is the responsibility of the
Kaiserpermanente.org Quality Committee.
The scope of the Committee includes the quality improvement activities of this Web
site, including but not limited to the following: overseeing development, implementation,
and maintenance of Web site principles and standards establishing standards for
this Editorial Policy and overseeing its implementation on the webb site evaluating
the quality of health care information, services, and member communications across
all features of the Web site ensuring that clinical quality and service issues regarding
this Web site are investigated and resolved in a timely manner identifying opportunities
for improvement and establishing priorities among them evaluating the Web site to
determine compliance with the standards established by regulatory and accreditation
organizations.
The Quality Committee is composed of Kaiser Permanente licensed health care professionals,
health educators, members of the management team, and health writers.
Content selection and credibility
Topics to be covered, their emphasis, and placement on the site are determined by
our Web site content team.
Whether produced by Kaiser Permanente or licensed from outside sources, our site
will contain health information that they believe to be credible and up-to-date.
They will not make claims of therapeutic benefit without reasonable support.
The content team is composed of Kaiser Permanente licensed health care professionals,
health educators, members of the management team, and health writers.
Initial content review
Health information authored or produced by Kaiser Permanente staff for their Web
site is reviewed for accuracy by Kaiser Permanente health professionals.
Before any health content is licensed or purchased for use by this Web site, it
will undergo thorough review. They will consider licensing health information only
if: It is produced by a reputable organization. They approve the organization's
separate editorial policy and review processes. The health information meets our
standards for thoroughness, accuracy, relevance, and timeliness. The health information
is based either on scientific evidence (preferred) or, when this is not available,
expert consensus.
Continuing content review
Because the art and science of medicine is constantly evolving, published health
information must constantly be reviewed and updated. All health information authored
or produced by Kaiser Permanente staff is reviewed at least every two years. In
addition, health topics will be updated as needed when significant new information
is published in the medical literature.
Health information on our site that is licensed or purchased from outside sources
is periodically reviewed under guidelines set by those sources. Those guidelines
will have been approved by members of our Web site team prior to licensing. They
encourage you to submit any comments or concerns you have about any health information
on this Web site by contacting our Web manager.
*Above is an excerpt from Kaiser Permanente's corporate website. For more information
on Kaiser Permanente please vist them at www.kaiser.com.
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