PASADENA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Six Kaiser Permanente Medical Centers in Southern California were named “Top Hospitals” today by the Leapfrog Group, a national organization that seeks to promote improvements in health care safety, quality and affordability. Coupled with the ten Kaiser Permanente hospitals in Northern California that were also designated “Top Hospitals,” Kaiser Permanente has nearly one fourth of the 65 hospitals honored nationwide.
To make the “Top Hospital” list, hospitals must meet strict standards for quality, patient safety and efficiency. Each facility honored must demonstrate effective use of computerized physician orders for medications, must meet tough standards for staffing intensive care units, must perform high risk surgeries and procedures successfully and must also demonstrate efficient use of health care resources while maintaining high quality outcomes.
Kaiser Permanente’s “Top Hospitals” in Southern California are:
“The real winners today are the patients we treat in those ‘Top Hospitals’ every day,” said Benjamin Chu, MD, president of the Kaiser Permanente Southern California Region. “This is a remarkable achievement for the physicians, nurses and other health care team members across our hospital system,” he added.
KP HealthConnect®, Kaiser Permanente’s 21st century electronic medical record system played a vital role in meeting the Leapfrog Group safety standards. By using computers to place hospital medication orders, physicians in Kaiser Permanente facilities were able to reduce medication errors. For example, KP HealthConnect® provides same-time alerts to physicians to notify them of drug allergies, drugs that are not appropriate for pregnant women and potential adverse drug interactions. The system also eliminates errors due to the legibility of physician orders.
“Our first goal is always to prevent serious illness that requires a hospital stay,” said Jeffrey Weisz, MD, executive medical director of the Southern California Permanente Medical Group, the physician group that cares for Kaiser Permanente members. “This honor gives our patients additional reassurance that they will receive quality care in a safe environment when they need hospitalization,” he added.
The Kaiser Permanente hospitals in Northern California are: Antioch, Oakland, Richmond, Roseville, San Francisco, San Jose, San Rafael, Santa Clara, South San Francisco and Walnut Creek.
The Leapfrog Group is a coalition of public and private purchasers of employee health coverage founded a decade ago to work for improvements in health care safety, quality and affordability. Initially organized by the Business Roundtable, it is now an independent advocacy group working with a broad range of partners, including hospitals and insurers. The annual survey is the only voluntary effort of its kind.
All of the Kaiser Permanente hospitals honored this year met Leapfrog’s criteria for Top Hospitals in urban areas. The results of the survey are posted at www.leapfroggroup.org.
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 to improve the health of our members and the communities we serve. We currently serve 3.3 million members in Southern California. 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. For more information, go to: www.kp.org/newscenter.
CONTACT:
Kaiser Permanente
Southern California Region
Jim Anderson, 626-405-5157
KEYWORDS: United States North America California
INDUSTRY KEYWORDS: Health Hospitals General Health
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