Kaiser Permanente Health Care

This hospital's policies are literally killing people. I have a neighbor who is in her 70's and her Kaiser doctor told that they shouldn't bother giving her medication, chemo, etc. anymore since she's ""of age"" anyway. She should just accept it and leave it at that. You're like ""no way, you're lying!"" Sadly no, it's very very true. They're THAT BAD. Beware! Tell all your friends to beware! more

In my experience, Kaiser's been TRANSFORMED in the last 15+ years. My husband and I have Kaiser through our employer. We use the San Francisico facilities, where our primary care physician gets an A+, as do the ER, the ObGyn, Dermatology, Internal Medicine and Opthamalogy depts. A couple examples: I'd phoned to get an appt for what I thought was a small problem with my eye. I was asked a number of questions and was told to come in immediately. Within a couple hours I was seen by 2 specialists, and in another hour laser surgery was done to fix my torn retina. Follow-up was equally impressive. My husband's eye problem was very rare and seemed minor at first glance. After being seen at Kaiser, they arranged for him to see an outside specialist - one of only a few in the country in that sub-specialty , and fortunately just across town - and he was able to confirm what we'd learned from Kaiser (the condition was stable and nothing more could be done).\r Kaiser's approach is prevention; they do many things to encourage behavior mod (i.e. classes to help with smoking cessation, diet change, etc.), and they aim to diagnose early through testing. The SF facility has all the latest, hi-end equipment, and the docs are not stingy about ordering tests, scans, etc. When I needed advanced care, I was confident I was treated by many of the best in that area of expertise, and all of those incidents had good outcomes.\r Kaiser's invested a lot to improve their facilities and communications systems. Within an appt., if meds or tests are needed, the doc orders them online, and you can usually go directly to the lab or pharmacy in the same facility and get everything done in one visit. We get email and sometimes hand-written notes from our doc about test results. If the tests are simple or routine, you can just go online to see results. Refills can be phoned in and mailed free, or picked up within 24 hrs if it's a rush. \r We feel very lucky to be with Kaiser. Pros: first rate care, lots of services under one roof Cons: some specialties have several weeks back-up for appts. more

I was reluctant to join Kaiser 9 years ago because of things I had heard, but once I was a member, I got great care and service. No delays in referrals for specialists, no going to different locations for labs, x-rays, medications, etc. After being a member for 7 years, I wanted to join as an employee and have been working for them for 3 years now. Now I know why they are so good. Had both of my children at KP San Francisco and was a great experience as well. Pros: Everything in one place usually. Less delays than anywhere else. Cons: Limited locations more