Kate Christensen, MD, Medical Director, kp.org, with Paulanne Balch, MD, Physician Lead for HealthConnect Online, Colorado Region

Greetings from Oakland, where I have been graciously invited to attend a get together of Kaiser Permanente’s clinical and business leadership for HealthConnect Online, which serves the personal health record connected to the electronic health record, HealthConnect, and accessible through kp.org.

I will say that even in the absence of the PCHIT work, I would want to be here. Why? Because I have always thought that the most innovative staff within Kaiser Permanente support the HealthConnect project, and the most innovative of that group support HealthConnect Online.

This was the first such meeting with every Kaiser Permanente region now fully live with the PHR, with Ohio up now for 30 days. And from my perspective, the news is good. As each region of the system discussed their current and future plans for the PHR, commentary focused on value of each feature for the members. I really liked what Gail Sands, Director of Innovative Projects for the Ohio region said: “This is the patient’s chart. They should know what’s inside.”

Strides in Transparency

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