Newt Gingrich and Sen. John Kerry don’t often agree. But when it comes to Intermountain Healthcare, the former Republican Speaker of the House and Democratic presidential nominee are on the same page.

Here’s what they wrote in The New York Times:

Another example is Intermountain Healthcare, a nonprofit health-care system in Utah, where [a significant percentage] of the care is based on evidence. Treatment data is collected by electronic medical records. The data is analyzed by researchers, and the best practices are then incorporated into the clinical process, resulting in far better quality care at a cost that is one-third less than the national average.

– Newt Gingrich, John Kerry, and Billy Beane, “How to Take American Health Care From Worst to First,” The New York Times (24 Oct 2008).

Intermountain Healthcare is recognized worldwide as an organization focused on providing care based on data and proven results. Much of our success may be attributed to our clinical programs. These eight programs allow physicians, nurses, and other clinical professionals to set clinical goals, conduct research, and evaluate results. This leads to the systematic development and application of best practices—a process that results in better care for our patients.

Here are our clinical programs:

  • Cardiovascular Clinical Program
  • Oncology Clinical Program
  • Women & Newborns Clinical Program
  • Primary Care Clinical Program
  • Intensive Medicine Clinical Program
  • Surgical Services Clinical Program
  • Pediatric Specialties Clinical Program
  • Behavioral Health Clinical Program

Did You Know?

In addition to our clinical programs, Intermountain has a Patient Safety Initiative that functions like a clinical program. This initiative has created guidelines to help protect patients from falls and reduce the incidence of pressure sores (i.e., bed sores). In 2009, the program is focusing on improving compliance with Intermountain’s hand-hygiene policy.

The Healers