Has any one been through the approval prosses with Kaiser Permanente

I just swiched to Kaiser Permanente because our policy covers the surgery. I have not chosen a primary care provider because I want to choose one that has done a referal for Gastric bypass surgery before. Salem, OR would be the closest Kaiser DR.'s office for me. Has any one out there been through the approval prosses in this area? Thank you for your help. Danielle Thorne

I had surgery with Kaiser 5/3/04. It was quite a long process to get through...almost exactly 1yr from my referral date with my PCP until my surgery date. I am in portland/vancouver area, so i cant help with the name of any PCP in your area that are WLS friendly or familiar...my doc up here is AWESOME! You might just call member serrvices and ask if they can give you the name of a PCP in your clinic that works with gastric bypass patients. You can go to my profile and read about my journey...if you have questions, please feel free to email me if you like. I was really happy with the surgeon and the whole program even though it took a long time and was a little frustrating along the way, i think they really did a great job preparing me for the whole thing. By the way, I am pretty sure you would have to come to the Clackamas hospital for the surgery and also for the appts with the bariatric department, I dont think they do bariatrics in Salem...but anything you need to do with your PCP you can do with one in Salem. Good luck to you in your journey! Shanna