“Mental health services here are
phenomenal in person and online,”
Dr. Kumar said.
Nationwide, the system comprises
some 23,000 physicians, 60,000
nurses, 219,000 employees, 39
hospital, 701 medical offices.
“We say at Kaiser Permanente that
we are the largest private practice
in the world,” Kumar said. In Santa
Clara and Santa Cruz counties, Kaiser
Permanente has more than 650,000
members and 1,300-plus physicians.
In the Northern California region,
more than 9,000 physicians serve
four million plus members.
“If I have a question, I have so many
amazing colleagues to consult,” Kumar
said. And because Kaiser Permanente
uses Epic—an electronic health records
system—the entire organization is
integrated. Medical professionals
have instant access to their patients’
medical histories regardless of which
Kaiser Permanente facility or physician
they visit.
Kumar said that in cases where
a patient’s healthcare need doesn’t
require an office visit, they can access
‘My Doctor Online,’ available as a web-
site and a mobile phone app.
“You can have a virtual visit with
your doctor,” Kumar said. “You can
have a video consult if you’re in Bali
and need to show a rash to your
doctor. You can access your pharmacy
services to renew your medications and
have them shipped to you. You can
check your labs, schedule classes, ask
for referrals to other specialties, and
email questions to your doctor (in non-
emergency situations), who will get
back to you online.”
According to Sharon Ngo Tran,
“We have Centers of Excellence,
which means that some facilities
specialize in specific areas of medi-
cine. For example, one of my sons
has a condition where he needs
to see a pediatric thoracic surgeon
who is located in Oakland. We can
travel to Oakland to see him or do
a virtual visit and see him online
from home,” Tran said. She is the
Community Engagement Manager
for the Permanente Medical Group
at the Kaiser Permanente San Jose
Medical Center.
Doctor Kumar added, “We have
technology that can be used to allow
a specialist at any other site to examine
a patient at any time and assist in
the care.”
Preventing illness is one of the
foundations of Kaiser Permanente. “It
is our DNA,” Kumar said. “That’s how
we started.”
Kaiser Permanente has proactive
outreach depending on each member’s
stage of life. Members with children
are notified when a particular routine
service is coming up for their kids.
Adult members are contacted by email,
phone, letters, or postcards when they
are due for routine exams, or specific
screenings. Written notices can be
sent in a member's preferred language.
Members are linked to a personal
physician who reaches out to them
once a year, usually on their birthday.
They will send a postcard reminding
their patient about services they need
in the coming year and recommending
services that are advantageous to
maintaining good health.
“Ultimately,” Kumar said, “it’s all
about the doctor-patient relationship.
Your doctor is important and a person
that you trust.”
In addition, prevention and
education can be accessed online
through Kaiser Permanente’s
web portal. Members can watch
instructional videos and request a
Personal Wellness Coach who will
help them deal with issues such as
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insomnia, anxiety, and stress, and
instruct them on healthy exercise and
eating. Wellness coaches are accessible,
supportive, and encouraging.
If letters, emails, and birthday cards
are not successful at bringing mem-
bers in for services, Kumar suggested
that “when you are on campus for one
service, we ‘grab’ you and get you into
another service if we can. We call that
in-reach. And because people are busy,
we strive to make it convenient, so we
try not to have all scheduled appoint-
ments but also openings for walk-ins.”
Even though Kaiser Permanente is
primarily a member-based organiza-
tion, they don’t turn anyone away. If
someone arrives in their ER, they will
be treated and admitted to a Kaiser
Permanente hospital if needed. Almost
twenty percent of emergency room
visits at Kaiser Permanente San Jose
Medical Center are non-members. In
an emergency, if Kaiser Permanente
is the closest facility, non-members
shouldn’t hesitate to use their services.
Conversely, Kaiser Permanente advises
members to visit the closest emergency
facility, Kaiser Permanente or non-
Kaiser Permanente, when necessary.
Kaiser Permanente Gilroy is very
much a part of the local community.
After the recent tragic events at the
Garlic Festival, Kaiser Permanente
offered drop-in counseling groups for
both members and non-members.
Dr. Kumar said, “We reached out
to the community—the police depart-
ment, schools—asking ‘How can we
help you?’”
“As a physician here, I do what’s
right for the patient.”
With so many dedicated
professionals at Kaiser Permanente
striving to provide the best possible
care for their members, there will con-
tinue to be opportunities for them to
step up and say, “I Saved a Life.”
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