Sang Manoharan, MD, Named Regional Chief of Occupational Medicine for Kaiser Permanente Southern California’s Kaiser On-the-Job®

Employer-based injury care program facilitates prompt and healthy return to work, while adding cost-saving benefits for both employee and employer

PASADENA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Kaiser Permanente Southern California announced today that Sang Manoharan, MD, has been appointed regional chief of Occupational Medicine for the Southern California Permanente Medical Group.

“I am honored to be part of Kaiser On-the-Job, an integrated health care delivery system that increases effectiveness, boosts productivity, protects long-term health and lowers costs. This is coordination that delivers quantifiable results that no other provider can offer.”

In his new role, Dr. Manoharan will lead Kaiser On-the-Job®, Kaiser Permanente’s employer-based injury care health program offering differentiated, cost-effective and quantifiably superior occupational injury care and return-to-work services. The program delivers savings on total workers’ compensation costs and superior outcomes due to Kaiser Permanente’s integrated health care model.

“I am very pleased to be able to contribute to the value that Kaiser On-the-Job already brings, beyond workers’ compensation costs reduction, but most importantly, the opportunity to lead the most dominant employer-based health care strategy for injury care in the foreseeable future of California,” says Dr. Manoharan. “I am honored to be part of Kaiser On-the-Job, an integrated health care delivery system that increases effectiveness, boosts productivity, protects long-term health and lowers costs. This is coordination that delivers quantifiable results that no other provider can offer.”

In addition to overseeing Kaiser On-the-Job occupational injury care and return-to-work services, Dr. Manoharan will coordinate an integrated approach to care with Kaiser On-the-Job physicians, associates and health care professionals, providing other non-injury medical services including pre-placement/post-job-offer examinations; fitness-for-duty and return-to-work examinations; Department of Transportation examinations; among other medical screenings and services.

Dr. Manoharan will be responsible for the 19 dedicated occupational health centers located within Kaiser Permanente’s Southern California facilities, many of which are conveniently located on Kaiser Permanente campuses. Nationwide, Kaiser Permanente has 74 dedicated occupational health centers throughout California, Washington, Hawaii, Oregon and Colorado.

With Kaiser On-the-Job, any worker — regardless of health insurance membership — who is employed by a company that chooses this essential benefit as part of its health care strategy, is able to access Kaiser On-the-Job health care services. Some of these additional services include urgent and after-hours care, available 24 hours a day, every day; and coordinated clinical services such as lab testing, X-rays, pharmacy, specialty care and physical therapy, all within the Kaiser Permanente integrated care model. Some services are offered at Kaiser On-the-Job occupational health centers, and many others can be made available at the workplace.

With over 24 years of practice, for the past five and a half years, Dr. Manoharan served as chief of Occupational Health Services for Kaiser Permanente Downey Medical Center. He will be working closely with John T. Harbaugh, MD, Occupational Medicine physician director, Southern California Permanente Medical Group. Dr. Harbaugh has provided leadership to Kaiser-On-the-Job since 2001. As part of a new leadership structure for the program, Dr. Manoharan and Dr. Harbaugh anticipate continued program growth and delivering quality occupational medical care in Southern California.

About Kaiser Permanente Southern California

Kaiser Permanente is committed to helping shape the future of health care. We are recognized as one of America’s leading health care providers and not-for-profit health plans. Founded in 1945, our mission is to provide high quality, affordable health care services to improve the health of our members and the communities we serve. We currently serve more than 3.5 million members in Southern California. Care for members and patients is focused on their total health and guided by their personal physicians, specialists and team of caregivers. Our expert and caring medical teams are empowered and supported by industry-leading technology advances and tools for health promotion, disease prevention, state-of-the-art care delivery and world-class chronic disease management. Kaiser Permanente is dedicated to care innovations, clinical research, health education and the support of community health. For more information, go to: www.kp.org/newscenter.