Kaiser Permanente and Netherlands' Radboud University Medical Center Team Up to Improve Parkinson's Care

OAKLAND, Calif., Sept. 9, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Kaiser Permanente is collaborating with Radboud university medical center, a world leader in Parkinson's disease, to deliver high-quality, evidence-based care to Kaiser Permanente patients with the life-altering nervous system disorder.

Kaiser Permanente will implement Radboud's "ParkinsonNet," a transformative, well-established care model for patients and caregivers who manage Parkinson's disease. ParkinsonNet will be first tested in Kaiser Permanente's Southern California Region, which has more than 7,000 Parkinson's patients. Based on results of this test, the program may be used in other Kaiser Permanente regions and the model possibly applied to other chronic conditions.

"Kaiser Permanente's Southern California Region is excited to collaborate with our Dutch ParkinsonNet colleagues to improve the lives of our members with Parkinson's and the families and caregivers who support them," said Todd Sachs, MD, medical director of operations, Southern California Permanente Medical Group. "We are committed to participatory care, empowering our members to be 'co-captains' alongside their health care providers to achieve optimal health and thrive."

Kaiser Permanente will use Radboud university medical center's "patient as partner" approach, a critical success factor for ParkinsonNet, to activate and involve patients from the beginning of their care. In ParkinsonNet, patients co-design program elements and are a valuable source of ongoing feedback for continuous improvement. Online communities empower members and caregivers and help facilitate care coordination among the health care providers. Once ParkinsonNet is implemented, Kaiser Permanente health care professionals will be continuously trained in the use of evidence-based guidelines and supported in their communication and collaboration.

Research has shown that the ParkinsonNet model can improve the quality of care, prevent disease complications (including a 50 percent reduction in hip fractures), reduce hospitalization and significantly improve affordability (approximately $27 million annual savings in the Netherlands alone, according to a recent study published in The BMJ (formerly the British Medical Journal).

"We look forward to sharing this model with Kaiser Permanente and its patients. ParkinsonNet is one of the best practices of our mission: to have a significant impact on health care," said professor Melvin Samsom, CEO of Radboud university medical center. "The strength of ParkinsonNet is the personalized and participatory approach of patients and caregivers. We are convinced that we can reinforce each other by collaborating and exchanging knowledge and experience on various care topics and thereby further improve the quality and sustainability of patient care."

About Radboud university medical center
Radboud university medical center, founded in 1951, is an institute for patient care, research and education and training, located in Nijmegen, the Netherlands. Our mission is to have a significant impact on healthcare. We aim to be a frontrunner in the development of innovative, sustainable and affordable healthcare. We offer excellent quality, participatory and personalized healthcare, operational excellence and sustainable networks. Our almost 10,000 employees and over 3,000 students do their utmost every day to make a positive contribution to the future of healthcare and medical sciences. For more information, go to: radboudumc.nl/EN

About Kaiser Permanente
Kaiser Permanente is committed to helping shape the future of health care. We are recognized as one of America's leading health care providers and not-for-profit health plans. Founded in 1945, our mission is to provide high-quality, affordable health care services and to improve the health of our members and the communities we serve. We currently serve approximately 9.5 million members in eight states and the District of Columbia. Care for members and patients is focused on their total health and guided by their personal physicians, specialists and team of caregivers. Our expert and caring medical teams are empowered and supported by industry-leading technology advances and tools for health promotion, disease prevention, state-of-the-art care delivery and world-class chronic disease management. Kaiser Permanente is dedicated to care innovations, clinical research, health education and the support of community health. For more information, go to: kp.org/share.

Contact:
Annie Moore, [email protected], (510) 625-5743

Samantha Quattrone, [email protected], (510) 681-3551

Press officers at Radboudumc:
Mariska Boshoven, + 31 627361507/+31 6 51 29 14 46
Marloes de Vink +31 652028172 / +31 6 51 29 14 46
[email protected]

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SOURCE Kaiser Permanente