Kaiser Permanente
announced Thursday that it plans a uniform system to answer patient complaints
at its 29
The Department of Managed
Health Care levied a record $3 million fine against Kaiser.
Kaiser will work "to
make sure the follow-ups are happening right away," said Bernard Tyson, a
Kaiser executive.
Kaiser will spend $10
million to $13 million on a series of state-ordered changes, including an
online tracking system for the hospitals. The state will cut the fine by $1
million if Kaiser implements all the measures.
State investigators found
shortcomings in how the HMO giant handled more than a third of 228 cases
involving complaints and quality-of-care issues at nine hospitals, including
Kaiser's
Kaiser lacked "the
ability to verify there was a consistent handling of complaints throughout its
medical centers and to determine whether serious and chronic problems were
being addressed," said Cindy Ehnes, director of
the Department of Managed Health Care.