Community Hospital named 'Most Wired'

CHICAGO -- Community Hospital in McCook, Neb., was named as a 2016 Most Wired hospital today, according to Lori Beeby, Director of Information Systems. The hospital was an award winner of the Most Improved category of the survey in 2013 and 2014. "For this year, we had improved in all aspects of the survey areas moving us to the highest designation, the Most Wired, this year," Beeby said.

"We continue to make great improvements, advancing in technology and electronic medical record usage," she said. "It has taken a dedicated team of Information Systems members and all Community Hospital departments to accomplish this award. We appreciate the work from the physicians and clinical staff in the many changes we see in the EMR which advances workflow and access to information. The data we collect, use in reporting, and use to make strategic decisions is ever growing. The landscape for health IT is constantly changing," she added.

"Community Hospital will continue to position ourselves to meet strategic goals around key objectives of making EMRs more useful and shareable, using data to make decisions for outcomes, services and reimbursement models and protecting our assets on the cybersecurity front," she concluded.

Other hospitals in Nebraska receiving an award include:

* Chadron Community Hospital and Health Services: Most Improved

* Faith Regional Health Services, Norfolk: Most Wired

* Nemaha County Hospital, Auburn: Most Wired

Technology is improving the efficiency of care delivery and creating a new dynamic in patient interactions, according to results of the 18th Annual Health Care's Most Wired(r) survey, released today by the American Hospital Association's (AHA) Health Forum.

According to the survey, Most Wired hospitals are using telehealth to fill gaps in care; provide services 24 hours a day, 7 days a week; and expand access to medical specialists. This year's results show:

* The top three telehealth services offered in hospitals are consultations and office visits, stroke care, and psychiatric examinations and psychotherapy.

* Stroke care is the most rapid growth area for telehealth services up 38 percent from 2015, as evidence-based studies emphasize the time urgency of stroke care.

* More than 25 percent of hospitals use internet-enabled monitoring devices for chronic disease management of congestive heart failure, diabetes and heart disease.

* In redefining the way that they provide care in their communities, Most Wired hospitals are using technology to build patient engagement with the individual's lifestyle in mind, which includes electronic access to their care team.

* 68 percent accept patient-generated data through the patient portal.

* 26 percent of Most Wired organizations offer E-visits through a mobile application.

* 61 percent use social media to provide support groups.

"Hospitals are breaking out of their traditional four walls and providing care where and when patients need it," said Rick Pollack, president and CEO of the AHA. "These Most Wired hospitals exemplify this transformation by harnessing technology, engaging patients and offering services remotely. And, removing policy and other barriers to telehealth will allow even faster adoption of these amazing technologies."

Most Wired hospitals are utilizing population health management tools and partnering with other health care providers to share critical clinical information used in analyzing interventions aimed at key patient groups, such as those with diabetes. To get patients the right care, hospitals are using predictive modeling to eliminate preventable problems.

* 53 percent interface electronic health record data with population health tools.

* 62 percent stratify patients according to risk.

* 51 percent aggregate data from patient encounters to create a community health record.

The versatility of mobile technologies makes it possible for clinicians and care team members to have the right tools for sound clinical decision-making wherever they are: 81 percent of Most Wired hospitals use mobile applications to notify clinicians of sudden changes in patient conditions and correlated events such as falls or respiratory distress or failure.

As they build out new capabilities, hospitals are also taking strong actions to ensure health data is secure.

* More than 90 percent use intrusion detection systems, privacy audit systems and security incident event management to detect patient privacy breaches, monitor for malicious activities and produce real-time analysis of security alerts.

* 84 percent conduct a third-party security audit annually to ensure that guidelines are followed.

HealthCare's Most Wired(r) survey, conducted between Jan. 15 and March 15, 2016, is published annually by Health & Hospitals Networks (H&HN). The 2016 Most Wired(r) survey and benchmarking study is a leading industry barometer measuring information technology use and adoption among hospitals nationwide.

The survey of 680 participants, representing an estimated 2,146 hospitals -- more than 34 percent of all hospitals in the U.S.-examines 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.

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.

About the American Hospital Association

The AHA is a not-for-profit association of health care provider organizations and individuals that are committed to the improvement of health in their communities. The AHA is the national advocate for its members, which include nearly 5,000 hospitals, health care systems, networks and other providers of care. Founded in 1898, the AHA provides education for health care leaders and is a source of information on health care issues and trends. For more information, visit www.aha.org

About Health Forum

Health Forum is a strategic business enterprise of the American Hospital Association, creatively partnering to develop and deliver essential information and innovative services to help health care leaders achieve organizational performance excellence and sustainability.

For more information, visit www.healthforum.com