As chairman and CEO of Kaiser Foundation Health Plan and Kaiser Foundation Hospitals, headquartered in Oakland, Calif., George C. Halvorson sits at the head of the nation's largest nonprofit health system, which serves around 8.6 million members and generates more than $40 billion in annual revenue.
As CEO, Mr. Halvorson has led the health system in implementing electronic medical records over the past five years. Kaiser now houses 10 million patient records in its EMR and serves as a leader in electronic connectivity between physicians and patients.
In a 2007 editorial for Forbes, Mr. Halvorson said the reformation of the healthcare industry must expand its reach to affect the day-to-day lives of Americans. "We need to prevent some of those chronic conditions and have a culture of benefits that encourage health," he wrote. "We need a health policy for the country that eliminates trans fats, labels all saturated fats and encourages people to have a minimal level of exercise. Doing those things could have upward of over a 25 percent improvement in healthcare costs over the next five years."
He quoted a study that showed if people walked one hour a day, five days a week, the likelihood of diabetes — the fastest-growing disease in America — would be cut in half. "There are huge opportunities relative to behavioral change and care improvement changes," he wrote.
In addition to his work leading Kaiser, Mr. Halvorson serves on the Institute of Medicine Roundtable on Value & Science-Driven Health Care, the American Hospital Association's Advisory Committee on Health Reform and the Commonwealth Fund Commission on a High Performance Health System. In 2009, he chaired the World Economic Forum's Health Governors meetings in Davos, Switzerland.
A passionate advocate of global health, Mr. Halvorson has served as an advisor to the governments of Uganda, Great Britain, Jamaica and Russia on issues of health policy and financing. His current writing project focuses on racial prejudice around the world.
Prior to joining Kaiser, Mr. Halvorson was president and CEO of HealthPartners, headquartered in Minneapolis. He has also held senior management positions with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota.
Read more on notable hospital leaders:
Hospital Leader to Know: Trevor Fetter, CEO of Tenet Healthcare
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As CEO, Mr. Halvorson has led the health system in implementing electronic medical records over the past five years. Kaiser now houses 10 million patient records in its EMR and serves as a leader in electronic connectivity between physicians and patients.
In a 2007 editorial for Forbes, Mr. Halvorson said the reformation of the healthcare industry must expand its reach to affect the day-to-day lives of Americans. "We need to prevent some of those chronic conditions and have a culture of benefits that encourage health," he wrote. "We need a health policy for the country that eliminates trans fats, labels all saturated fats and encourages people to have a minimal level of exercise. Doing those things could have upward of over a 25 percent improvement in healthcare costs over the next five years."
He quoted a study that showed if people walked one hour a day, five days a week, the likelihood of diabetes — the fastest-growing disease in America — would be cut in half. "There are huge opportunities relative to behavioral change and care improvement changes," he wrote.
In addition to his work leading Kaiser, Mr. Halvorson serves on the Institute of Medicine Roundtable on Value & Science-Driven Health Care, the American Hospital Association's Advisory Committee on Health Reform and the Commonwealth Fund Commission on a High Performance Health System. In 2009, he chaired the World Economic Forum's Health Governors meetings in Davos, Switzerland.
A passionate advocate of global health, Mr. Halvorson has served as an advisor to the governments of Uganda, Great Britain, Jamaica and Russia on issues of health policy and financing. His current writing project focuses on racial prejudice around the world.
Prior to joining Kaiser, Mr. Halvorson was president and CEO of HealthPartners, headquartered in Minneapolis. He has also held senior management positions with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota.
Read more on notable hospital leaders:
Hospital Leader to Know: Trevor Fetter, CEO of Tenet Healthcare
Hospital Leader to Know: Kathleen Kinslow, New CEO of Philadelphia's Aria Health