Kaiser Permanente - Northwest

For nearly 60 years, the name Kaiser Permanente has stood for excellence in health care services. In a single year, we schedule more than 32 million outpatient visits, deliver 90,000 babies, thanks to the dedication of some 147,000 employees and physicians.

Quality of Care
We are driven by the needs of our members and our responsibility to the many communities we serve. As a nonprofit organization, our physicians and staff are focused on the delivery of high-quality health care and services, rather than short-term stockholder demands.

Progressive Work Environment
At Kaiser Permanente, our emphasis is on improving the quality of care we provide to our patients and creating a positive environment for our health care professionals. Our employees enjoy the advantages of a supportive work culture, substantial compensation and benefits, and excellent opportunities for professional growth.

Awards and Recognition
Kaiser Permanente is nationally recognized as an organization that delivers high quality health care and services. Recently, we were named one of the "World's Most Respected Companies" by The Financial Times and Pricewaterhouse Coopers (January 2003). Kaiser Permanente was ranked seventh in the health care category and we were the only health organization listed that provides direct patient care.

CCHRI - Best in California: For the seventh straight year, no other health plan has earned higher ratings from the California Cooperative Health Reporting Initiative on more measures than Kaiser Permanente. The annual ratings measure clinical quality and member satisfaction. (CCHRI Report on Quality 2003)

Kaiser Permanente has also received recognition from the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA), the nation's leading reviewer of health plan quality. Kaiser Permanente in several regions, including Hawaii and Northern and Southern California, Ohio and Colorado, earned the top rating of "Excellent," which means that we satisfied or surpassed NCQA's strict evaluation criteria in areas such as preventive care, member services, physician credentialing and improvements in care delivery.*

Both our Northern and Southern California regions were the only health plans in California identified by the NCQA in its list of the best health care programs in the Pacific states. In NCQA's The State of Health Care Quality 2003, our Northwest and Hawaii plans also rated in the top five on clinical measures of quality care.

Our Northern California region received more three-star "Excellent" ratings than any other health plan surveyed by California's Office of the Patient Advocate on California's Quality of Care Report Card 2003-04.

Additionally, Kaiser Permanente of Colorado is rated in the Top 10 in the nation among health care providers. (NCQA The State of Health Care Quality 2003)

Kaiser Permanente of the Mid-Atlantic States leads the region in Clinical Care and Prevention Measures in the NCQA's annual Quality Care Survey.**

* Commercial HMO and Medicare-contracted product lines. Northern California: April 2003; Southern California: May 2002; Hawaii: July 2001; Ohio: October 2003; Colorado: January 2004.

** Quality Compass 2002. Used with permission of the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA). Any analysis, interpretation, or conclusion based on these data is solely that of the authors, and NCQA specifically disclaims responsibility for any such analysis, interpretation, or conclusion. Quality Compass is a registered trademark of NCQA.