By Cynthia H. Craft
Sacramento Bee
Originally posted September 10, 2014
Health care giant Kaiser Permanente has agreed to pay a $4 million fine to California’s overseer of managed health care following an 18-month battle with state officials over whether Kaiser blocked patients from timely access to mental health services.
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Moreover, the department found that Kaiser was likely violating state and federal mental health parity laws. The California Mental Health Parity Act requires managed care providers to provide psychiatric services that are equal in quality and access to their primary care services.
The entire article is here.
Showing posts with label Kaiser Permanente. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kaiser Permanente. Show all posts
Thursday, October 2, 2014
Thursday, April 4, 2013
Large HMO Cited in Mental Health Care Cover-up
Nancy A. Melville
Medscape Medical News
Apr 03, 2013
California's Department of Managed Health Care (DMHC) has cited Kaiser Permanente for using a deceptive dual record-keeping system to cover up violations of the state's "timely access" law, which restricts the amount of time mental health patients should have to wait for an appointment, as well as for other violations.
In a report filed last month, the DMHC concludes that many Kaiser mental health patients faced extensive waiting periods for appointments, well beyond the 10 days for a regular appointment that the law requires.
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Clinician Whistle-blowers
The violations were discovered through a standard survey or evaluation process that the DMHC uses to review compliance by all California health plans.
After the review was underway, complaints regarding timely access violations were brought forward by a group of Kaiser Permanente's own mental health clinicians, who were represented by the National Union of Healthcare Workers (NUHW). Those complaints were considered and incorporated in the evaluation, Rouillard said.
Among the psychologists lodging complaints was Andris Skuja, PhD, who said the violations had been observed for years before the clinicians referred their concerns to the DMHC.
"Over a number of years, we tried many internal mechanisms with Kaiser to address some mounting concerns we had about the adequacy of treatment," Dr. Skuja told Medscape Medical News.
The entire story is here.
A previous news story about this topic can be found here.
Medscape Medical News
Apr 03, 2013
California's Department of Managed Health Care (DMHC) has cited Kaiser Permanente for using a deceptive dual record-keeping system to cover up violations of the state's "timely access" law, which restricts the amount of time mental health patients should have to wait for an appointment, as well as for other violations.
In a report filed last month, the DMHC concludes that many Kaiser mental health patients faced extensive waiting periods for appointments, well beyond the 10 days for a regular appointment that the law requires.
(cut)
Clinician Whistle-blowers
The violations were discovered through a standard survey or evaluation process that the DMHC uses to review compliance by all California health plans.
After the review was underway, complaints regarding timely access violations were brought forward by a group of Kaiser Permanente's own mental health clinicians, who were represented by the National Union of Healthcare Workers (NUHW). Those complaints were considered and incorporated in the evaluation, Rouillard said.
Among the psychologists lodging complaints was Andris Skuja, PhD, who said the violations had been observed for years before the clinicians referred their concerns to the DMHC.
"Over a number of years, we tried many internal mechanisms with Kaiser to address some mounting concerns we had about the adequacy of treatment," Dr. Skuja told Medscape Medical News.
The entire story is here.
A previous news story about this topic can be found here.
Friday, March 29, 2013
Kaiser Permanente cited for EHR mental health violations
By Jennifer Bresnick
EHR Intelligence
Originally published on March 20, 2013
Kaiser Permanente, the largest healthcare provider in California, has been cited by the California Department of Managed Healthcare (DMHC) for keeping two sets of patient records: an official EHR that it showed to state inspectors, and a parallel paper record that hid violations of the state’s “timely access” law that mandates shorter wait times for mental healthcare than Kaiser was able to provide. The inaccuracies involved in the HMO’s dual record keeping system meant that mental health patients may have waited weeks longer than the law stipulates for appointments, resulting in illegal denials of access to care for schizophrenia, autism, depression and suicidal ideation, among other serious conditions.
The problem stems from Kaiser’s double appointment keeping procedures. While there is an electronic version – the version that gets reported to government officials – Kaiser also used paper lists in some facilities, rendering its electronic appointment wait time calculators useless.
The entire story is here.
Thanks to Ed Zuckerman for this story.
EHR Intelligence
Originally published on March 20, 2013
Kaiser Permanente, the largest healthcare provider in California, has been cited by the California Department of Managed Healthcare (DMHC) for keeping two sets of patient records: an official EHR that it showed to state inspectors, and a parallel paper record that hid violations of the state’s “timely access” law that mandates shorter wait times for mental healthcare than Kaiser was able to provide. The inaccuracies involved in the HMO’s dual record keeping system meant that mental health patients may have waited weeks longer than the law stipulates for appointments, resulting in illegal denials of access to care for schizophrenia, autism, depression and suicidal ideation, among other serious conditions.
The problem stems from Kaiser’s double appointment keeping procedures. While there is an electronic version – the version that gets reported to government officials – Kaiser also used paper lists in some facilities, rendering its electronic appointment wait time calculators useless.
The entire story is here.
Thanks to Ed Zuckerman for this story.
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