Seven Munson Healthcare system hospitals have been recognized by the American Hospital Association’s journal Hospitals and Health Networks as “Most Wired” hospitals for 2015
Kalkaska Memorial Health Center, Munson Healthcare Cadillac Hospital, Munson Healthcare Grayling Hospital, Munson Medical Center, Paul Oliver Memorial Hospital and West Shore Medical Center all were recognized as Most Wired. Otsego Memorial Hospital was recognized as Most Wired - Small and Rural.
Most Wired is an industry-standard benchmark survey conducted by the American Hospital Association’s Health Forum and the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME). It is a leading industry barometer measuring information technology (IT) use and adoption among hospitals nationwide. The survey of more than 741 participants, representing more than 2,213 hospitals, examined how organizations are leveraging IT to improve performance for value-based health care in the areas of infrastructure, business and administrative management, quality and safety, and clinical integration.
“This recognition affirms the investment Munson Healthcare system hospitals have made in their communities to ensure we have sophisticated and essential technology in place to promote quality health services for patients, as well as privacy protection for their important health information,” said Ed Ness, Munson Healthcare president and CEO.
Results of the 2015 survey detail how “Most Wired” hospitals and health systems are leading the nation with greater alignment between hospitals and physicians, and more aggressive measures for health data security.
As hospitals and health systems begin to transition away from volume-based care to more integrated, value-based care delivery, hospitals are using IT to better facilitate information exchange across care settings. According to the survey, the physician portal is a key factor in strengthening physician-hospital alignment:
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In 84 percent of “Most Wired” organizations, physicians can view and exchange other facilities’ results in the portal, compared with 63 percent of hospitals surveyed.
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76 percent of the “Most Wired” use the portal and electronic health record (EHR) to exchange results with other EHRs and health information exchanges, compared to 56 percent of those surveyed.
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81 percent of the “Most Wired” can communicate with patients via email or alerts, in contrast to 63 percent of all respondents.
According to the survey, hospitals also are taking more aggressive privacy and security measures to protect and safeguard patient data. Top growth areas in security among this year’s “Most Wired” organizations include privacy audit systems, provisioning systems, data loss prevention, single sign-on, and identity management. The survey also found:
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96 percent of “Most Wired” organizations use intrusion detection systems, compared to 85 percent of the all respondents. Privacy audit systems (94 percent) and security incident event management (93 percent) also are widely used.
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79 percent of “Most Wired” organizations conduct incident response exercises or tabletop tests annually, a high-level estimate of the current potential for success of a cybersecurity incident response plan, compared to 37 percent of all responding hospitals.
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83 percent of “Most Wired” organizations report that hospital board oversight of risk management and reduction includes cybersecurity risk.
“Congratulations to our nation’s “Most Wired” hospitals for harnessing the potential of information technology to improve quality care and patient safety, and lower health care costs,” said Rich Umbdenstock, president and CEO of the American Hospital Association. “At the forefront of the field, these hospitals are setting the bar for protection of patient data through discerning security measures.”
Detailed results of the survey and study can be found in the July issue of H&HN. For a full list of winners, visit www.hhnmag.com.