Michael Kanter, MD Discusses How Kaiser Permanente Uses the EHR to Close Care Gaps

Michael Kanter, MD, medical director of Quality and Clinical Analysis for Southern California Permanente Medical Group, discussed in the latest EHR Intelligence report how Kaiser Permanente uses its massive electronic health record to support safety net programs that work to close potential gaps in care.

The article, “Harnessing Effective EHR Use for Improved Patient Care,” spotlights the organization’s KP SureNet programs. Kaiser Permanente Southern California, for example, uses its EHR to note lag times between test results and follow-up by the physician, which helps to ensure patients with abnormal results get seen by their doctors. This has been used in tests such as prostate cancer screenings for men and creatinine testing for patients at risk for potential chronic kidney disease.

In the article, Dr. Kanter also notes how the EHR can help monitor patient compliance of medication use.

“One of the biggest challenges for any health care organization is identifying and addressing potential care gaps such as with medical testing: making sure that the patient understands the results of their tests, that their doctors communicate next steps, that the patient actually gets the test or follow up done, and that there is a system in place that ensures those steps are taken. EHR safety nets can help address these challenges,” says Dr. Kanter, who also serves as chief quality officer for The Permanente Federation.

Read the complete story on the EHR Intelligence site.