Kaiser Permanente has been cited by the California Department of Managed Healthcare for multiple mental health care violations, including keeping two sets of records to hide lengthy appointment wait times from investigators. Definitely worth reading the entire article because it shows the deliberation with which Kaiser skimps on your care and then lies to cover it up. The sad part is that they are so rarely caught red-handed like this because the DMHC usually treats each complaint like an isolated incident, rather than evidence of the systemic fraud and malpractice that is obviously occurring. The complaints that spurred this particular investigation came from Kaiser’s own mental health practitioners, which is unusual, but it’s about time!
The California Department of Managed Health Care (DMHC) issued a report yesterday affirming the findings of an exhaustive complaint filed by Kaiser Permanente’s frontline mental health clinicians, who are represented by the National Union of Healthcare Workers (NUHW). The DMHC cited Kaiser for multiple violations that have now been referred to the agency’s Office of Enforcement, which is responsible for imposing legal and financial penalties on HMOs.
It then goes on to list some of the specific violations, and explores the serious impact Kaiser’s failure to meet state standards can have on patients.
The DMHC’s full final report is here; and the complaint from the clinicians – with the assistance of the National Union of Healthcare Workers – can be found here. This is a very well put together complaint, with all of the data to back it up.
.
It’s about time. I have bipolar disorder with a history of multiple psychiatric hospitalizations and suicide attempts. I take a complicated cocktail of medications to stay stable. Formerly I used to see a psychiatrist every 2-3 months. I moved to a new county 2 years ago. I have not seen a psychiatrist for a year.
On one occasion, I was attempting to make an appointment with my psychiatrist and he informed me that he had no available appts. That’s right, he could not offer me an appt. I was going to have to wait until the next “block” of appts opened up and call back. I have been put on “booking lists” that do not seem to exist. I have been sent to “med groups” where you are seen by the doctor one at a time like one of a herd of cattle.
On 5/1 I missed an appt because I had fallen asleep. I called the office right before my appt time and asked if I could at least have a phone conversation with the Dr. as I live an hour away and would not be able to make it in time. As it turns out, they said I only would have 10 minutes to speak with him due to an emergency. If I had driven down there, would it have only been for a 10 minute appt? I was not contacted about this. The doctor rebooked an appt for me, but it is not until the end of June. That is his earliest opening.
Have they come anywhere close to correcting their issues? Hell no.
MENTAL HEALTH CONFIDENTIALITY/PRIVACY DOES NOT EXIST WITH KAISER. I am slightly encouraged. My concern is as a retired kaiser medical person. I have found out that my mental health visits and diagnosis are now availble to every Dr. I see in medicine. The Diagnosis vary and differ depending totally on my experience with a member of mental health staff. The staff who print these up are medical assistance or such and then ??????????? and then into the doctors hands which your Dr. will be holding when he/she come into the clinic room to examine you. ASK TO SEE IT FOR YOURSELF!!!!!!
A POLICEMAN OFFERS YOU YOUR MIRANDA RIGHTS KASIER DOES NOT
And, this is costing Kaiser a $4,000,000.00 fine for violating mental health parity laws.
What I want to know is, is there a class-action suit happening because of this? I’ve been with Kaiser way too long. The whole time, I was told they did not have one on one long-term therapy. Now it is revealed! They should have been offering it the whole time. I spent a lot of money on a private therapist. I WANT IT BACK!!!!
I’m a kaiser employee. And I’m upset the my mental health recordes or available to every doctor I see . Plus I can’t get Meds adjusted and I got a new mental health doctor which I don’t know how he or see is . I got assign this doctor 2 or 3 years ago and I can’t get in to make and appt ,or get Meds adjusted or switch . I’m upset that every provide can see my mental record know I don’t know what to do.only mental health doctor should see your mental Heath recordes. Not regular doctors.
Shocked to see only five comments after reading the DMHC’s final report. I was made aware of this lawsuit several months ago but for some reason, didn’t investigate the matter until this evening. A Blessing… sometimes timing is everything. I have struggled with major depression for as long as I can remember but was formally diagnosed at the age of 18. I’ve been in therapy off and on (mainly on) throughout my life and have also been on just about every medication that I’m aware of at one time or another. Six years ago, I was put on an MAOI that provided substantial relief up until a few months ago. Flash forward to July 2012 when, due to my husband’s change in employment, I became an official Kaiser member. Prior to this time, my husband was self-employed so for nearly seven years, we paid out of pocket for my weekly visits to a therapist who was indeed superior but naturally did not accept insurance. (Hurtful since our premium was close to $900 per/month) I grieved for quite some time over the fact that I no longer would be able to see this therapist who quite literally knew everything about me and my family history. At some point, however, I began to acknowledge that a fresh perspective on many of the issues I was working on, might be beneficial. Major wake up call..I made my initial appointment with the psychiatric department and was told that I could not be seen for three weeks. I remember thinking to myself that it was a good thing that I was feeling fairly stable. I’d like to note that I wasn’t requesting any therapist in particular as I knew nothing about any of the therapists. It was simply a shot in the dark. Three weeks eventually passed and on the day of my appointment, I was excited that perhaps a new therapist might, as I mentioned, bring a new perspective to my struggles. I’ll never forget this appointment. In the waiting room, I filled out the ‘standard Kaiser psychiatric mood rating form’ which asks a series of ten or so very general questions. I later would come tome to find that this form was to be filled out before each session – individual or group- yet no mention or reference to it has ever been brought to my attention. It’s an obvious formality meant to make the patient feel that their problems are being tracked yet anyone who has spent even a minute amount of time working with a therapist can see through the fact that this oversimplified form tells the therapist very little at best – assuming that he or she even looks at it which I have yet to actually witness after a year of being a Kaiser member. My initial appointment was a disaster. I remember doing all of the talking and getting absolutely no response from this particular therapist. He simply stared at me as I poured my heart out to him, telling him stories that were profoundly important to me. No reaction whatsoever. I believe the only thing he said throughout the entire session was “Yeah. That would be hard.” I had no idea how long the session was supposed to last (an hour I later learned) but after 20 minutes and the end of a 30 second awkward moment of silence, I told him that I’d be going. He quickly said OK and that was my introduction to Kaiser psychiatric services. Eventually, to my wonderment, I found a therapist that I really connected with almost immediately. She even reminded me of my prior therapist that I was so fond of. I remember thinking to myself that even though I didn’t get to see her on a weekly basis (far from it…More like every three or four weeks),that everything was going to be OK. Unfortunately, on perhaps my fourth or fifth visit with her she informed me that she was leaving Kaiser and moving to Los Angeles to go into private practice…this was to be our last session. I was quite literally sick to my stomach. It had taken a lot of trial and error to find her. I couldn’t imagine going through that process yet once again. I’m now with a therapist who is mediocre at best. I had an appointment with him today and walked out of his office more upset than I was before I entered. I am now going to quit talking about my personal experiences and state what I think of the psychiatric department in general. I think it is a DISGRACE. I think that anyone on the brink of suicide would more than likely succeed. They are completely understaffed in every area. Even the front desk receptionists who make and check patients in for their appointments are extremely abrupt most of the time. There have been several occasions recently when I have called not just crying but nearly sobbing, and have been told in a very cold tone that I’ll have to wait two or three weeks before I can be seen. It’s almost hard to believe. Appointments focus solely on the problem currently be experienced with no attempt to explore a person’s background, childhood, family or any other information that most skilled therapists are eager to know. Their entire focus is to get the patient into a group as quickly as possible. More often than not, the patient will initially be put into a group which they refer to as IOP (Intensive Outpatient). I went into this group with an open mind that quickly slammed shut when the group facilitator interrupted me during my initial share and instructed me to only talk about issues that were immediate…Current affairs only. I couldn’t believe my ears. Despite my intense dislike for this individual, I continued to attend until the group ended and I was told that if I wanted, I could now attend IOP 2. Eventually, other more specific groups were mentioned that I might attend. The funny thing is they won’t disclose all of the inter-department groups that exist…only those which they recommend. So unless you know that a certain group exists, you can’t make an inquiry. I’m quite certain this makes their job much easier which overall, seems to be their objective. I am mortified by the way this department operates. I often think of people who have had no prior therapy and are introduced to it through Kaiser. At the very least I have the benefit of knowing and recognizing what quality therapy entails and if things get bad enough, I will somehow find someone outside of the Kaiser system. There is help to be had out there and it can be difficult to find. If confined to the Kaiser psychiatric department, at least from what I’ve experienced, be prepared to persevere until you find an acceptable level of care. Don’t allow them to herd you into one of their groups unless that is truly what you desire. I wish everyone out there happiness and good luck.
I would like to see a lawsuit also, I live in Santa Clarita Ca and the care for my son has been so negligent its horrible.
Pingback: Union sues to block Kaiser from Covered California exchange | Kaiser Permanente Thrive Exposed
Dwight Bell, thats the doctor that carelessly ruined my life and his poor paper trail as stated from my own voicemails from aetna and his secretaries show what kind of trash they hire to manage such delicate issues. go to hell dwight bell
I intent to file a lawsuit against Kaiser for invasion of privacy. I recently became aware that
all of my “mental health” visits and purported diagnoses are available to every Doctor, ER doctors, hospital staff personnel throughout the Kaiser system. Two doctors failed to timely diagnose a urinary infection despite 3 1/2 months of complaints of urgency, frequency and flank pain. Finally I demanded a referral to a urologist. Fast forward infection control called me and said I had Klebsiella Pneumoniae and that I had to be admitted to hospital for sepsis.
Kaiser doctor wrote “patient insists on referal to urology even though the lab tests are negative”; While hospitalized I became aware of the total lack of privacy. Doctor ordered
me to go to a “behavoral SNF” and to share a room with another patient in Isolation with another infectious disease. I refused. I was bullied, the room was filthy, no shower 5 days,
no hot water in shower, handle missing, sharps container overflowing. A terrible experience
After 8 days I was served with a bill for $3094 a day even though I have full Medical. The letter threatened liens on my property. I was ordered “not to communicate with my regular doctors”. Nurse at Kaiser Richmond incorrectly put PICC line in my arm — bleeding, bruise, pain led to embolus in arm which traveled to my lung. I called bully nurse: “Nurse Ratchet times 10” She got that reference
The person who wrote this is correct in most respects.
My wait to see my Psychiatrist averages two months and she refills my Psych Meds without seeing me for one to two years. Yes, it’s true. I go that long before I see her.
She once told me that she was seeing me on her lunch and the Dept. was short seven staff members.
(Psychiatrists, I think).
Let me tell you from personal experience, I’ve had 6 mental health providers leave kaiser just to get away from the horror. They felt bad they didn’t have the tools and time to help the patients, to see them enough. Many those who stay are feeling anger. It’s an unwritten rule to work buu pr85
My husband, who I met online-huge mistake-has been a nightmare for the past ten years. He has been treated (what a crock-Dr Heimberg of Gwinnett County Georgia) for 14 years-he has been in mental hospitals 3 times since September 2013 and Dr. Heisenberg never diagnosed the serious mental issues he suffers from..or should I say I suffer from. Hoarded, compulsive lying, impulse control disorder and sociopathic personality. They are worthless!!! Try to get a mental health appointment…you have to wait months and have to go 9 to 5. What a total crock they are! Kaiser stinks…I recently had a hemotoma remained and I felt every slice..When I screamed in pain the “doctor” told me to shut up because I was disturbing other patients in the office. A Kaiser nurse I spoke to afterward was astonished..she said when I told the so-called surgeon that I could feel it he should have stopped immediately and given me more local. That might have cost Kaiser another buck or two. We all need to get together and rise up..stop being steeple!
Behavioral Health at Kaiser/Burke, Virginia has denied me all my mental health medications solely on age. I am currently 63 years old and in their letter to myself and medicare they admitted that patients over the age of 60 will not be prescribed certain medications from this department. The psychiatrists have refused to treat me as there is no medication they will prescribe to me. I have been on three medications for the past 17 years and they wanted me to suddenly stop the medications without substituting other medications which would have put my life at risk. I requested a referral to outside the HMO to be treated by another psychiatrist and they denied me this as well. What are the seniors who are coming on board now in the Fall of 2014 going to do when they find out their medications may be denied. Medicare has turned a blind eye to this and so has CMS and yet Kaiser Permenente retains their 5 star rating. I don’t get it.
I pay for Kaiser health insurance that I cannot use because of all the co-payments that go along with IT. The only time I use Kaiser is for a emergency, going to the er costs $65 plus co pays for xray and lab work that I cannot afford.Kaiser has turned over my account to a collection agency which will ruin my credit.thanks kaiser
This is still happening. I just switched to Kaiser because of a job change and I have been getting long term one on one therapy for MANY years and was told that although they could “see I needed one on one weekly therapy, unfortunately it is not available at Kaiser.) This was in October of 2014. They said “I know it seems like it is not enough but it is all we can offer at this time”. I was pushed to try meditation classes and group therapy as alternatives (with the same copay as therapy). NOT the same thing.
I have been trying since July to get a referral from my daughter’s
Kaiser doctor. Kaiser has stalled me for all this time and issued
it’s latest denial letter today.
The treatment my daughter needs will not be provided without a
referral letter. The latest denial letter from Kaiser contains
blatant lies about my daughter’s doctor communicating with me.
He has refused to call me back and I have no contact about her
care while he continues to treat her, prescribe medication I know nothing about.
Kaiser refuses to change the doctor and simply does not address
my plea for another doctor.
I am looking for a way to help my handicapped daughter.
I will definitely get back up in here and really say what’s going on. My time is fragmented and has been for several months of my partners hospitalization. My partner received excellent care from the Department of Public Health San francisco. I made the mistake of switching him to My KP PLAN. WELL HE WAS THRIVING WITHOUT KAISER AND NOW BELONGING TO THE behavioral health of SF GEARY EVERYTHING WOULD FALL APART. THIS PAST SEPTEMBER I STARTED TO RECOGNIZE ODD BEHAVIORS THAT CONCERNED ME THAT HE MIGHT DRIFT TOWARDS A BIPOLAR EPISODE I WOULD CALL HIS DOCTOR EVERY DAY TELLING THEM THATTHE BETTER GET HIM IN TO SEE THEM URGENTLY BECAUSE HIS CONDITION WAS CHANGING FOR THE WORSE. NO CALLS WERE EVER MADE AND THEN THE FULL ON LONGEST LASTING PSYCHOTIC /manic episode in full swing. Small fire in our home arrested inappropriately, incarcerated, beaten in jail, attacked in public and beaten, 5150-discharge horrible horrible care, Santa clara admission-abused by staff for 7 weeks out agin released from kaiser unstable, arrested back in jail-Fremont Hospital for nearly 2.5 months-transported to group I house living-personnel administering meds without license. KAISER MENTAL HEALTH YOU HAVE FUCKED UP MY PARTNERS HEALTH PERMANENTLY WITH THE NEW PTSD, OUR RELATIONSHIP FOREVER STRAINED. THOSE OF YOU WHO WORK IN THE PYSCHE UNIT THAT NEED PSYCHE CARE SEEK SERVICE ELSEWEHERE OR YOU LIFE WILL BE FOREVER DESTROYED LIKE OURS. I CAN HARDLY WAIT TO GET AN ATTORNEY ON THIS AS SOON AS WE CAN. . MORE OF COMPLETE NARRATION WHEN TIME PERMITS I AM ANGRY AND I AM NOT LETTING UP UNTIL PATIENTS GET WHAT THEY NEED. NO MORE NEED TO SUBSTITUTE MINDLESS AND IRRESPONSIBLE CARE ONTO YOUR CLIENTA. DONT Fight the plaintiffs IN COURT ON THESE MATTERS-pay ups-you blew it.
Oh yes I’ve been trying to get kaiser to order a fucking brain MRI ON HIM FOE MONTHS. HE HAS CHRONIC HEADACHES, EARACHES AND HAS NEVER HAD MRI. MRI CAN BE EXTENSIVELY BENEFICIALMTO RULE OUT ORGANIC FACTORS. MY PARTNER SUSTAINED A BLOW TO HEAD IN JAIL AND STILL NO FUCKING MRI. WHAT SHOULD I EXPECT. I HAD CT SCAN ONCE. THERE WAS SOMETHING ACTUALLY FOUND BUT NEVER REVEALED. I JUST SO HAPPENED TO BY LOOKING MEDICAL RECORDS THAT SAID. RIGHT CEREBRALL CAVENOUS ANGIOMA UNCHANGED SINCE. …….THEY NEVER TOLD ME I HAD THIS.
This is a follow-up to my post of Feb.2, 2015 regarding Kaiser’s failure to provide the referral letter I needed for my daughter
to have dental care. I was finally able to get care through another agency that tries to assist the handicapped in California. Without this wonderful agency and Canhr Long Term Justice and Advocacy group (www.canhr.org), my daughter would still be in pain, and taking pain medication from a Kaiser doctor who never communicated with me.
This pain medication was being administer on the words of a Skill
nursing coordinator who refused to call me and communicated only with the long term care home where my child resides. These individuals are involved in a power grab for complete control of handicapped patients without consent of responsible family members.
All family members should be advised that when Kaiser assigns a
patient to a long term facility the family could be giving up their
rights to continue making decisions for that patient. The best way to describe what is happening is that there is a click, led by long term care facilities operating together with Kaiser’s Skill nursing coordinator for Contra Costa,and even the Ombudsman office in Contra Costa County California to seize control of handicapped patients when family members try to get needed dental care. Note,
dentists will not allow families to pay themselves because they want to hear from the patient’s medical doctor. Kaiser refused to
provide the referral letter for over 8 months and continued to mask the pain with harmful narcotics.
Their Skilled nursing coordinator advised everyone to deny court ordered custody for birth mothers and institute custody rights for parents who have been absent for over 40 years-this after deeming this party would be easier to work with since they know nothing about the patient’s medical history. They even ordered a psychological screening without doctor’s orders and without family knowledge. I will be seeking explanation for this but Kaiser’s records have a history of disappearing and the evaluation nurse has
not provided records or findings.
I hope this message helps others who may be experiencing the same horrible condition and have not yet figured out this powerful
click driven by Kaiser’s Skill Nursing in conjunction with long
term Care hospitals.
My best information is that each responsible party should look to
Medicare (verify each patient’s name on invoices and escalate complaints to hearings when necessary, or Canhr when Ombudsmen and all others fail to assist. You have the power to withhold your signature from documents ordering things without your knowledge such as psychological screening and pain medications to mask pain when dental care would resolve the problem.
I blame myself for allowing her to be assigned by Kaiser to a facility without my knowledge of that facility. For over 40 years I alone have carefully spoken for her. Now, I will never give up my rights to any hospital, or skilled nursing facility. Please investigate carefully when Kaiser makes assignments to Skilled Nursing facilities and avoid Kaiser’s Skilled Nursing for Contra Costa County, and Contra Costa Ombudsmen if at all possible.
If you need a Power of Attorney, insist that the Ombudsmen respond to the room during signing. This will be valuable when they try
to negate your rights.
More later.
My PCP retired so I saw my potentially new doctor yesterday. I wanted her to be familiar with my history, be aware of my meds, ask for a referral to endocrinology, and ask if the fatty tumor (on my leg) could be removed because of pain. She walked in and without any friendly acknowledgment, began hitting me with questions about the pain meds I’ve been on for three years. I’m on a fentanyl patch and Norco for breakthrough pain due to several debilitating conditions of the spine which surgery won’t help. (I went to orthopedic surgeons and pain management outside of Kaiser, besides seeing more than a couple in the group and a chiropractor.) I’m well aware that I have to expect to live with some pain but I’ve been completely immobilized by it several times and am now legally disabled. I don’t abuse my pain meds, as evidenced by my labs and my refill history. (Am I not attempting to live with pain when the one month supply of patches stretches from the middle of March to the middle of May, and Norco is taken 0-1 times a day, two a day when weather changes or I’ve had too much activity?) Anyway, she kept telling me, “you need to live with pain”. Then, she noticed that I go to mental health and proceeded to press me for information regarding my mental health. The medical records for mental health aren’t made available to primary care so why is she violating my privacy? I said I wanted to see an endocrinologist because I didn’t believe that my issues were being addressed since no one has checked the status of a substernal goiter, I was medicated for hypothyroidism, became hyperthyroid, then taken off the medication while still having symptoms. My maternal grandmother died of endocrine disease and I also was exposed to radioactive material. She argued that PCPs are more than able to address my issues so I don’t need a referral. The next item caused me to totally forgot about the tumor. She went back to the subject of pain meds and said something about dosage. I explained that while my former PCP had tried levels of 50 to 75 to 100 mg. patches, I asked for a reduction from 100 to 50. I casually stated that I told my former doctor that this time I noticed the difference in strength and that I didn’t know how I functioned so differently then. (She was in the hallway and that comment sent her back like a whirlwind.) She started talking about safety and somehow felt it necessary to threaten me by telling me that she’d take my drivers license, in a heartbeat. She repeatedly stated this threat. To which I still attempted to smile through it and I told her that I thought that was a good thing because I would’ve appreciated it if any Kaiser physician had taken my husband’s license when he was having uncontrolled seizures. I tried to stay calm throughout the entire appointment, especially after she dug into my mental history. This doctor wouldn’t listen, cut me off, wouldn’t read my “chart”, would tell me I needed to “do..” but wouldn’t offer suggestions, told me to go to the lab and didn’t tell me what to do afterwards (I had to ask twice), kept threatening license removal, didn’t ask if I needed any refills, and talked to me as if I were an ignorant child. She said I needed to lose weight… duh!…inactivity due to pain, hypothyroidism, GERD, and over fifty years knowledge about diet. (Up until my late forties I was very active: weight training, hiking, walking, rafting and worked as a letter carrier.) If she had bothered to ask or listen she should’ve given me some credit for knowing something. Frankly, I think she made prejudiced opinions of me. I don’t even know if it would do any good to complain about my treatment.
I would really like to talk to J who just posted about being 50 with. New dr. And her pain patches and meds.if you read this I can talk to you or get more advice about your condition and mine and what you did about it. I was shunned from psychiatry. Lied about stenosis. 2 ortho doctors harassed me and only cared about my weight issues and not to make sounds with your pain I had to changer. At ortho sports center in Kearny Mesa ,ca. A sweet lady dr. Ask me how long since MRI. I was masked with 3 opoids from sept to 2014 to oct 2015 finally surgergy. At Zion. I have lost 2 jobs with major anxiety,now they won’t give me drugs that work,because I told primary no more narcotics. I was done,now though I need antianxiety meds that work better than histamine.im typing right now and cramping up and face is tingling numb!!!! I am getting out of kaiser and have paper trail,kind of want to file harassment. Can someone right me,Amy I will get out of kaiser if that means 5 different clinics.im still awaiting except acne in s.d. County mental health for meds and an eval. It’s been since march since kaiser psychiatry shunned me!!!!!! Amy …thank you
I don’t even know where to begin. I have been asking for therapy for approximately 15 years of my guys a membership to no avail. I have filed repeated grievances that I have one but then Kaiser doesn’t tell me how to access the services I have been approved for. I have been filing grievances and fighting for over 15 years and I thought I have been alone all this time. Two of my friends committed suicide under kaisers negligent care. I nearly did until I found an outside therapist and begin paying out-of-pocket for the help I needed. I can’t understand why organization built to help people would spend billions of dollars slithering out of giving them the services they pay for. Greed and lack of conscience is all I can guess. One of my children was diagnosed with autism and truly suffering. She was six years old and said she wanted to kill her self because she hated her brain. I desperately salt therapy from Kaiser and they refused. They said that I was probably more worried about her than they were. You think! I got her the help she needed out-of-pocket as well. This is outrageous. When will we band together in a class action suit and stand up against Kaiser? I can’t even post all the other stuff that is taking place in these 15 years but it is practically endless. I am begging please do something to help us.
Thank you for the person who created this website and thank you all for contributing. I went through an unforgettable traumatizing experience at the Kaiser Santa Clara Behavioral Health Care Center. I had just given birth to my second child and within 8 weeks was suffering from postpartum depression and psychosis. The police arrived at my home, sent me to the county hospital where I was abused and traumatized then I was sent to the Kaiser BHCC. I was held against my will, physically threatened by a male nurse, constantly threatened by a staff member that she would syringe me if I did not take the medication, not allowed to see either of my two children unless I took medication, not allowed to breast feed my newborn or see him even when I did take the medication. The psychiatrist was changing and upping my medications without my knowledge or consent and both of the psychiatrists assigned to my case kept lying in court so they would extend my stay. After a month away from my family and a $300,000 bill I was only released because the psychiatrist didn’t want to meet me outside of the Kaiser campus for another court hearing. I was sent home with PTSD and horrible medications. I was not equipped to handle two babies. It took me a year of meditation to fight the anxiety and it took me almost three years now to finally let go of my hatred of the psychiatrists and staff that hurt me and my family. I can see the good in the people that did try to help me in the hospital such as some of the staff and other patients. I am grateful to God that I am still alive and thriving despite what Kaiser could have done to me. The psychiatrists and staff who know that they did something wrong will have to live with that the rest of their lives and that kharma will carry with their future generations and their souls when they die. They will never truly know what peace is. They will continue in their sad job with their sad life and we will move on and survive. Peace is priceless. When you live a good life with truly good intentions in your heart you will have peace in your heart and mind. Thank you for sharing your stories. I do not feel so alone in my Kaiser experience. I wish you all love, happiness and peace.
A late response, but have to fully agree. I was with Kaiser for two years, and there is no privacy or ‘records barrier’. All medical diagnosis’ are listed on the patient’s front page. I’m not sure if the specific details of each record are available though. But every doctor and assistant who pulled up my records could see every diagnosis my psychiatrist made. There was also a lack of care about my record’s security. There was one physical therapist office that used a computer in the middle of the therapy room. They had the front page of my records left open for anyone to see as they walked by. I later complained about it, but received the expected “we never found any proof this happened”.
Warning kaiser working with goverment. D.e.a & D.o.j. They are reporting in my opinion to these agencys. You can no longer do medical marijuana. If taking any type triplicate Drug or psychotic drugs. Under The CURES 2.O ACT.Everyone to be drug tested who take anytype meds listed above.if anything else found in system. Your medication can be stopped. Also given choice rx or (other) Medical marijuana (eventhought lawmakers approved SB420 Prop215 in California).kaiser has Ruined my pain management. Hypocrisy is that 3 months prior all my doctors were telling me i was doing proper pain mgmt from 2005 to april 2015. 10 years past now its a problem. Bullshit hypocrites you want us SICk for your PROFIT.you dogs!
Oh my! I’m afraid I don’t have any great horror stories about Kaiser. I’ve been a member for many years and have watched them evolve, sometimes kicking and screaming,from horrendous to pretty damned good. I even have a primary whom I love. My chief complaint is, indeed, the inability to get timely appointments in psychiatry. When my shrink left last October, the earliest appt I could get was mid-January this year. I have yet to meet her face to face. This brings me to the second of my issues: the Mental Health facility in Daly City is located in an utterly non-mobility-impaired building. It is virtually impossible for someone like myself who has difficulty in walking more than 30 ft to navigate the distance from the parking garage to their offices. (And they probably have a 40 yr lease on the property.
I must add this about the Santa Clara facility where I was a very recent guest. They not only saved my life, they changed my life. I have nothing but gratitude for them. The one quibble I have is, once again, they are deficient in wheelchair friendly doors, particularly into the dining room. There I was dependent upon the good graces of others to open the doors for me.
I understand that these are my experiences and that others can, and do, have wildly varying experiences.
I don’t know where to start I’m so frustrated and wore out,I’ve been taking care of my x-wife for a lot of years,she has schizophrenia ,in 2007 voices told her to divorce me I didn’t argue just agreed,she’s been threw enough ,to make a long story some what short ,she’s been on her meds on time for quit awhile still hering voices but able to cope last 3-4 mounths she’s been getting pretty bad,2 days ago we called to talk to her doctor ,I call him a doctor because im really not sure he should be called a physiciatrist,needing to talk to him my wife needs an adjustment on meds in the day ,I called 5 times and was told someone would call me back,the only calls I reseved were from my message call backs because of the wait time,she is now hearing bad voices and say’s she has multiple personality’s she never had that before ,ive never been a Kaiser fan but now ive lost all respect for the whole company ,know I’m going to call them again,thank you for listing to me and to all of you out there I really feel for what your having to go threw ,all I can say is try an hang in there I’m tring just not sure how long I can do this ,it’s been about 22 years .
In late June of 2015 I finally spoke the truth of the horrors that plagued me during my childhood. The trauma runs deep and the disorders… well there are four of them. My therapist is literally blaming me for not being able to come in for group therapy when I have told her multiple times that I have to see her and any other doctor before 11:30 AM. What am I suppose to do? Drop everything for her? How do they expect people to pay for bills when we have other stressful situations surrounding us? I had to switch my entire schedule to try and get help only for her to tell me she did not believe I was actually trying to get help. It’s a good thing I have evidence to support my claim. My advice to anyone reading this is to always make sure you have proof because Kaiser has not changed at all since this was posted.
KP has been so unbelievably negligent in so many cases. The mental health department is pathetic when it comes to getting people in to be seen. They make some people wait a MONTH or more to be seen, unacceptable. It took me 3 months to get a brain MRI after having a concussion. I asked my social worker, primary care, neurologist. FINALLY, and urgent care Dr ordered one. I’ve had infections twice from dirty IV’s, been misdiagnosed numerous times and treated poorly MANY times.. Kaiser needs a shake down!
I was admitted to the er under a mental health 24 hour watch by my mother after I was almost killed by my bf. I had been running from him for an hour before someone helped! Mentally i was exhausted but I didn’t need to go to the hospital for anything other than a fucking IV for dehydration. I knew they could do nothing for the trauma it’s fucking Kaiser. I begged my mom to please not leave me there with the men staff I was uncomfortable. She left me. They made me wipe down with baby wipes at 2am instead of a shower, yelled at me to shut up when I asked for a policy and procedure run down. The staff stormed my room after not letting me sleep for hours, strapped me down, shot my body up with somethings to make me think I was dying and raped me. They told my mom the next day I was bruised and strapped down for being in compliant. This is very short in detail what happened to me. No one seems to believe me until a bloody condom wriggled it’s way out of me a few days later after being dumped into sierra vista. I was never given an opportunity to talk to my mom until I got home and cried to her. She said trauma can make you imagine things and I was very distraught the day I went in. I wasn’t distraught I was fine I was just a little beat up mentally after spending 3 days with my sick bf and seeing him be arrested. I WAS RAPED and ABUSED at KAISER in the mental health emergency room. Several staff took part in this and the abuse.
For what it’s worth, I have received excellent psychiatric care from Kaiser for the past 15 years. A year of in-patient, outpatient, partial-day hospitalizations, and 1:1 appointments while my diagnosis and meds got worked out. Kaiser covered all of it. I’ve been stable on for more than a decade. I’m sad to hear others did not have the same experience.
Letting the world know…I was recently employed at LA Fitness in Irvine California and signed up for the corporate health plan. Strange bills started coming in the mail even though I was paying hundreds a month just to have insurance. Then people started resigning from the company and then they hired staff who were listed in the MS Windows Active Directory listing as part of a Kaiser Permanente employee mail group. I thought that was very odd. Then I became sick with the flu and bronchitis as well as several other employees on my team, then male team members began to shout at me abusively (very inappropriate for a corporate office!). Perhaps they did this to exert their dominance or something because I am at management level. When I reported the harassment, intimidation and shouting to the upper management, they did nothing, they DID NOT notify HR, then they gave me a severance check and let me go. I was the hardest worker on the team of all those who were not suffering from burnout like all the other software developers. I have filed a lawsuit. I don’t know if is was discrimination or a sick experiment by the new employees. Then when I told my doctor about the incident, he made it seem like he didn’t understand what I was saying.