Anna Werner
Reporting
(CBS 5) SAN FRANCISCO — The California Department of Managed Care on Wednesday ordered Kaiser Permanente to improve its’ patient hotline established in the wake of troubles with the HMO’s kidney transplant program in San Francisco, which were first uncovered by CBS 5 Investigates.
Following complaints from patients who complained they were not receiving good information by calling the hotline, the state has ordered Kaiser to increase staffing levels for phone service by Thursday. Regulators who said they tried calling the phone line over the weekend reported that their calls went unanswered.
In addition to increasing staffing, Kaiser was told it must offer better information over the phone through a script that must be approved by regulators. State officials said doctors or nurses should also return all patient calls to the hotline within 48 hours.
Regulators have directed Kaiser to send out a new letter to all patients advising them of the past hotline problems and the changes being made.
The Kaiser kidney transplant hotline number is 1-800-390-3508. Complaints about hotline problems can be directed to the state Dept. of Managed Care at 1-888-HMO-2219.
They will fix the phone line…so it connects directly to a trash can.