Kaiser Permanente Launches ''Real Time'' Online Appointment Scheduling in Northern California.
Business Editors/Health & Medical Writers
OAKLAND, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 8, 2002
Kaiser Permanente Is the First Health Care Organization in
California to Provide This Type of "Real Time" Online Service
Kaiser Permanente members in Northern California can now view their doctors' available appointments online and select a time that's convenient for them. Kaiser Permanente is the first healthcare organization in California to launch this automated scheduling feature that lets members schedule their appointments in "real time."
"We're giving members more choices and control over their health care," said Robert Pearl, M.D., executive director and CEO of The Permanente Medical Group. "Because of our uniquely integrated system, we can connect our members directly to the information and services they need. Kaiser Permanente is committed to providing not only quality medical care, but delivering it in a way that's personalized and convenient."
The new appointment scheduling feature is available throughout the Northern California region, which serves more than 3.1 million members, 75 percent of whom have access to the Internet.
The new online service lets members manage their own healthcare as well as the needs of their family or other members for whom they arrange medical services. Like Kaiser Permanente's Appointment and Advice Call Center, which is accessed via telephone, this online service is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. When scheduling an appointment, members receive an immediate online confirmation of the date and time of their appointment, and can choose whether or not to receive an appointment reminder either by phone or mail prior to their appointment.
Currently, this new scheduling option includes the departments of Family Practice, Internal Medicine, Pediatrics and Ob/Gyn, although other departments will be added soon.
Other health services and information available on Kaiser Permanente's members' Web site include prescription refill, discussion/support groups, health and drug encyclopedias, and links to other Web sites approved by Kaiser Permanente medical professionals. For more information contact Dena Durkin at (626) 583-5845.
Kaiser Permanente is a non-profit, prepaid, group practice health plan, founded in 1945. The Kaiser Permanente Northern California Region has almost 3.2 million members. It includes 4,451 physicians in The Permanente Medical Group (TPMG) and approximately 46,000 Kaiser Foundation Health Plan and Hospitals and TPMG employees. The Region is organized into six service areas served by 19 major medical centers.
