Kaiser Permanante, Term Paper Example

Description of Organization(Kaiser Permanante)

My organization is Kaiser Permanente, which is considered the largest managed care consortium in United States of America. This organization presently manages an 8.9 million health plan company consisting of 14,600 members; 167,300 employees; 37 medical centers, and 611 medical offices. The health information technology presently being used to its organization is called the KP HealthConnect and Medical data exchange. KP HealthConnect is a unique health information database designed by this organization to facilitate health record storage and communication for its network of hospitals and agencies (Feachem, Sekhri, & White, 2002).

Besides, Kaiser Permanente has partnered with the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in establishing a medical data exchange program from a San Diego location. In 2010 the two entities utilized a Nationwide Health Information Network for medical data exchange, which allowed Kaiser Permanente clinicians and the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to access electronics health records of veterans. While this is worthy of commendation for such a huge organization, it is my concern that there is no clinical decision support system (CDSS) to facilitate accurate decisions among health care providers among the 37 medical centers, and 611 medical offices ( Feachem et.al, 2002).

There are two levels of governance operating within Kaiser Permanente organization development. It consists of a national structure along with regional entities. This governance model is very important to the organization since it offers care in eight of United States Regions eight regions. Kaiser system within each region is formed by applying two or three interdependent distinct entities. California contains four. Importantly, this model was adapted in 1955 to facilitate communication among physicians functioning within the organization. (Hendricks, 1993).

Kaiser Foundation Health Plans (KFHP) forms part of the national structure operating as a not-for-profit entity within the infrastructure. This serves as a shelter for the profit making Permanente Medical Groups representing a group of physicians, which are organizations owned by physicians functioning as for profit entities. Through this structure these physicians provide a variety of care for residents in the communities they service.The hospital foundations segment functions as not-for-profit while the Kaiser Foundation Health Plans is for profit and finances this other segment of the business (hospitals)(Hendricks, 1993).

There have been immense changes occurring in the organization between the pre and post-world war 11 eras. For example, in 1939 Kaiser Company began as a shipbuilding business in anticipation of the world war. However, by1942 effects of the war forced the owners to switched emphasis into providing health insurance plans for over 20,000 workers. Further evolution after the war saw the company mutating into family foundation with hospitals, physicians and various categories of health care workers. Since then there has been perpetual growth realizing what is known today as one of the largest health care organizations in United States of  America and internationally. Many countries pattern their health care interventions from these great minds that startedKaiser Permanente(Hendricks, 1993).

Challenges in MarketingKaiser Permanente

One of the main marketing challenges is that the organization is huge. Therefore, marketing consultants have to decide, which products are more important to market and advertise them. More importantly, Henry Kaiser one of the founders and leaders in the organization even though  marketing health plans was not a physician. As such, physicians in the company established as Permanente segment, which is considered for profit entity rebelled against the organization having the  name Kaiser who did not know anything about medicine, but about selling health plans. The advantage here that can be cited above everything else; Kaiser was a business and he knew how to market a business, which he did (Hendricks, 1993).

This seems to be the greatest challenge among health care organizations. They still think that health care is a service entity. However, beginning from the ship building ventures Kaiser knew how to present an organization as a business even though he did not know anything about the product, but developed skills engaging the public to purchase the services and products that were offered. This being the major initial marketing challenge in the post war eraHenry Kaiser became  more intrigued by the healthcare system Garfield  designed and of his own accord sought to manage Kaiser Permanente and Garfield without any medical background (Lohr, 2004)

At this point his marketing strategies proved fruitless, ultimately leading to a financial crisis. Keiser further tried to market his service by marrying Garfield’s head nurse in an attempt to calm the frictions he created. These marketing issues were initiated through Kaiser’s meddling in the new Walnut Creek hospital administration conducting experiments for which he was not qualified to execute.  Clifford Keene eventually became president and devised new marketing strategies, which lifted the organization out of the financial difficulties created by Kaiser’s inefficient marketing techniques. Managed care helped to save the day for the organization marketing strategies since it changed the focus to less medical care, which created more income (Hendricks, 1993)

References

Feachem, R. Sekhri, N., & White, K. (2002). Getting more for their dollar: a comparison of the NHS with California’s Kaiser Permanente. BMJ, 324 (7330); 135–143.

Hendricks, R. (1993). A Model for National Health Care: The History of Kaiser Permanente. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press

Lohr, S. (October 31, 2004). Is Kaiser The Future Of American Health Care?. The New York Times (NYTimes.com).