Newsmakers
Permanente physicians are regularly featured in the media on a variety of health issues.
Stephen Parodi, MD, outlines road to Permanente Medicine brand in Strategic Health Care Marketing story
Theodore Levin, MD, featured on National Colorectal Cancer Roundtable
Sameer Awsare, MD, breaks down the basics of biosimilars
Ken Hempstead, MD, addresses importance of doctor-patient relations in vaccines conversation
Despite a large body of scientific evidence demonstrating the effectiveness and safety of vaccines, there remains a portion of the country where parents remain skeptical, refraining from getting their children vaccinated for diseases such as measles and mumps. An article published in Time magazine today examined parents’ struggles with understanding…
Winston Wong, MD, co-authors paper on addressing issues in health equity
One longstanding goal of the medical care system has been to provide high-quality care to patients. However, a 2000 report from the Institute of Medicine (IOM) chronicled that up to 98,000 Americans die each year due to medical errors. A National Academy of Medicine paper published this week that was…
Ken Robinson, MD, on optimizing the benefits of electronic health records
The net benefits provided by an electronic health record (EHR) – saving physicians precious time and increasing their efficiency – far outweigh any drawbacks, “especially if the physicians using the system are given adequate peer-led training that teaches them how to use the system efficiently and effectively,” says Ken Robinson,…
Kate Koplan, MD, on reducing hospital stays after joint replacement surgery
More than 1 million joint replacements are performed every year in the United States, and by 2030 that number is expected to grow to more than 4 million. A typical hospital stay for a total joint replacement is 3 days. However, hospital stays can contribute to slower recovery, unnecessary costs, and…
Jeffrey Velotta, MD, quoted in HealthLeaders on regionalizing lung cancer surgery
Jeffrey Velotta, MD, discusses in a HealthLeaders article published this week how Kaiser Permanente improved lung cancer surgery outcomes by shifting patients to five centers of excellence for thoracic surgery. In the story, “How Kaiser Permanente Regionalized Lung Surgery,” Dr. Velotta, a thoracic surgeon with The Permanente Medical Group, details…
Jeffrey Velotta, MD, presents findings on effects of regionalizing lung cancer surgery
A study looking at the latest innovation of consolidating lung cancer surgeries by location in Kaiser Permanente Northern California showed regionalizing these procedures was feasible for the organization and effective for patients, resulting in shorter hospital stays and fewer complications. Kaiser Permanente regionalized thoracic surgery in 2014, shifting cases from…