News release: National

September 24, 2004

For more information, call:
Alison Truman
Kaiser Permanente Division of Research
Phone: (510) 891-3542
E-mail: Alison.Truman@kp.org

Alexandra Matisoff-Li
Kaiser Permanente Media Relations
Phone: (510) 271-5624
E-mail: Alexandra.Matisoff-Li@kp.org

Reducing the probability of error in HIV/AIDS patient care: a workshop on patient safety, medical errors and adverse events

San Francisco, CA (Hyatt Regency San Francisco Hotel, 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.) – The Institute of Medicine issued a landmark report several years ago that called for research and implementation of programs to avert preventable medical error. While there have been some efforts to address this issue in health care delivery, such as in the treatment of cardiovascular disease, there has been less activity in the area of HIV/AIDS patient care. On September 24, 2004, a group of 22 experts will convene a workshop in San Francisco to discuss current research in the investigation of medical error in the care of HIV/AIDS patients, existing systems and interventions to detect and monitor medical error, and to draft guidelines that may help to avert future errors.

The workshop is hosted by the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research, under the sponsorship of the federal Agency for Health Research and Quality. In attendance will be clinicians and researchers from institutions that provide service and funding for the care of HIV-infected patients, including: Dr. Paul Volberding, Director of the Center for AIDS Research at the University of California San Francisco and Director of the AIDS Program and Medical Oncology at San Francisco General Hospital; Dr. Lawrence Deyton, national Director of AIDS Services at the Veterans Affairs; and Dr. Stephen Follansbee, Director of the HIV Clinical Trials Unit at Kaiser Permanente San Francisco. The workshop will be chaired by Dr. Gerald DeLorenze of Kaiser Permanente Division of Research. Other attendees include:

NAME
Dr. Stephen Asch (UCLA/Rand Corp.)
Dr. Shawn Fultz (Yale University/Veterans Affairs)
Dr. Allen Gifford (UCSF/Veterans Affairs)
Dr. Jennifer Gray (University of Texas, Arlington)
Dr. Fred Hellinger (AHRQ)
Dr. Mark Holodniy (Veterans Affairs Palo Alto)
Dr. Michael Horberg (Kaiser Permanente Santa Clara, CA)
Dr. Dan Klein (Kaiser Permanente Hayward, CA)
Dr. Eli Korner (Kaiser Permanente Denver)
Dr. Veronica Miller (George Washington University/HIV Forum)
Dr. Larry Mole (Veterans Affairs Palo Alto)
Dr. Phooey Nguyen (Kaiser Permanente San Francisco)
Dr. Charles Quesenberry (Kaiser Permanente Division of Research)
Dr. Haya Rubin (Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine) Dr. Joe Selby Kaiser (Permanente Division of Research)

Kaiser Permanente has research departments in California, Oregon, Hawaii, Georgia, Colorado, Maryland and Ohio. Results of research conducted by Kaiser Permanente physicians and investigators have been published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, the New England Journal of Medicine, the Permanente Journal, the American Journal of Public Health, Pediatrics, and other clinical journals.

Kaiser Permanente is America's leading integrated health plan. Founded in 1945, it is a not-for-profit, group practice prepayment program with headquarters in Oakland, Calif. Kaiser Permanente serves the health care needs of about 8.2 million members in 9 states and the District of Columbia. Today it encompasses the not-for-profit Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc., Kaiser Foundation Hospitals and their subsidiaries, and the for-profit Permanente Medical Groups.

Nationwide, Kaiser Permanente includes approximately 136,000 technical, administrative and clerical employees and over 11,000 physicians representing all specialties.