The nonprofits healthcare organization; Kaiser Permanente, was featured as the most successful model of the highly integrated and cost-effective care in the United States (Sim et al., 2015). An integrated organization is one which its final goal is attained through the interaction of several organizational units which work under cohesive strategies and rules dictated by the central management. Kaiser Permanente is an integrated, managed care consortium. According to Kagan, Sebastian & Ross (2016), the organization is based in California, and its foundation is traced back to 1945. Kaiser Permanente is made up of three different cohesive codependent groups; Kaiser Foundation Hospitals, Kaiser Foundation Plan, and Permanente Medical Groups.
Kaiser Permanente archived integration through vertical and horizontal management of its organizational units and the support of Information Technology. Kaiser Permanente integrates three different units; the Health Plans, Hospitals, and Medical Groups. Integration is successful because the groups within the organization have a horizontal and vertical framework coordinated by the central department of Kaiser Permanente (Sim et al., 2015). Also, the advanced Information Technology makes it possible for patients and their medical information to move smoothly from primary care to specialty care .
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Various factors contribute to the success of Kaiser Permanente. First, the organization has an integrated structure. Kaiser Permanente is integrated vertically across its medical groups, health plan, and hospital and horizontally unified within its units. Moreover, the organization’s primary care, outpatient care, and specialty care are highly integrated (Kagan, Sebastian & Ross, 2016). Secondly, Kaiser Permanente has advanced IT systems. The IT system or Kaiser Permanente are structured in a way that patient’s information is obtainable via a comprehensive EHR at each point of patients contact ( Copeland et al., 2019). The Proper IT systems improve communication between physicians and reduce redundancies in testing and care hence lowering costs.
Thirdly, Kaiser Permanente has a prepaid method of payment. According to Kagan, Sebastian & Ross (2016), up to 90% of the organization’s revenue is prepaid, and this allows the organization a system to align incentive with patients. Furthermore, the culture of physician leadership in Kaiser Permanente contributes to its success. More than 25 percent of physicians take part in Permanente Medical Group's Leadership Institutes, which encourages productive healthcare and builds efficient health providers. Besides, the Kaiser Permanente is an MCO because of is health plan which comprises a group of doctors and other providers who work together to deliver health services to members of the Medicaid.
The aspects which make Kaiser Permanente successful closely relate to the organization’s mission and vision. The mission of Kaiser Permanente is to provide high quality, affordable health-care services, and improve the health of its members and the communities we serve (Sim et al., 2015). The physician leadership programs and the use of advanced IT system contribute to effective customer services, and this connects to Kaiser Permanent’s mission. The mission of Kaiser Permanente is, "We are trusted partners in total health, collaborating with people to help them thrive, creating communities that are among the healthiest in the nation, and inspiring greater health for America and the world” (Sim et al., 2015). The fact that the organization offers prepaid services to the customers directly related to its mission. Prepaid services create a healthy association between Kaiser Permanent and its customers.
Although certain aspects have impacts on Kaiser Permanente’s integration efforts, I can apply the organization's elements in another healthcare system to improve integration. Incentives offered as a result of prepaid arrangements ensure that every member in the organization works together in harmony, and this facilitates the Kaiser Permanente's integration efforts. The competent IT system in the organization which gathers and shares information and tracks down outcomes also facilitates the organization’s integration efforts. Besides, I would apply Kaiser Percent’s strategies to any other healthcare system to improve integration because a highly integrated organization offers effective care services. While proper information technology infrastructure and clinical leadership may facilitate integration at other healthcare systems, improper methods of employee evaluation may be a significant barrier toward integration.
References
Copeland, R. L., Wong, W. F., Jones, J., & Edmunds, M. (2019). Using Information Technology at Kaiser Permanente to Support Health Equity. In Consumer Informatics and Digital Health (pp. 43-59). Springer, Cham.
Kagan, M. H., Sebastian, I. M., & Ross, J. W. (2016). Kaiser Permanente: Executing a Consumer Digital Strategy (No. 408). MIT Sloan CISR Working Paper.
Sim, J. J., Rutkowski, M. P., Selevan, D. C., Batch, M., Timmins, R., Slezak, J. M., ... & Kanter, M. H. (2015). Kaiser Permanente Creatinine Safety Program: a mechanism to ensure widespread detection and care for chronic kidney disease. The American journal of medicine , 128 (11), 1204-1211.
