08.19.04

Laughlin Memorial Hospital Named 2004 Most Wired Hospital

Most Wired Lead Nation’s Hospitals in EMR Adoption

Chicago (July 19, 2004) — Laughlin Memorial Hospital has been named one of the nation’s MOST WIRED—SMALL AND RURAL winner, according to the results of the 2004 Most Wired Survey and Benchmarking Study released today.

Survey results found that these hospitals and health systems are making significant progress automating four core components of an electronic medical record (EMR)--current medical records, medical history, patient demographics and nurses’ notes. The survey measures the nation’s hospitals on their use of Information Systems technologies for quality, customer service, public health and safety, business processes and workforce issues.

Results from the survey were used to name the 100 Most Wired, the 25 Most Improved, the 25 Most Wireless and the 25 Most Wired—Small and Rural. The survey also found that Most Wired hospitals have made considerable investments in other key technologies, such as radiology systems and picture archiving communications systems (PACS). Hospitals & Health Networks conducted the survey in cooperation with IDX Systems Corporation and the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME).

“Top hospitals realize the power of the electronic medical record to improve quality, safety and the patient experience,” says Alden Solovy, executive editor of Hospitals & Health Networks , the journal of the American Hospital Association (AHA), which has named the 100 Most Wired hospitals and health systems for the past six years. These hospitals are emphasizing clinical quality and patient services in their efforts to remain technology leaders, says Solovy.

“Health care technology continues to be a critical component of our health care delivery system,” says Mark Wheeler, M.D., chief technical architect, IDX Systems Corporation. “The 100 Most Wired hospitals not only demonstrate what is possible today, but also are proof of concept for the President's health information technology plan and the national health information infrastructure.”

President Bush has pledged to establish an EMR system within 10 years and has appointed an IT coordinator to guide health care organizations toward improving IT infrastructure. Results from the 2004 survey show that the 100 Most Wired hospitals are striving to achieve this goal. The entire report is available at www.hhnmag.com.

Analysis from this year’s survey results shows:

• 90% of the Most Wired provide access to the current medical record online;
• 87% offer access to the online medical history;
• 88% offer online access to patient demographics; and
• 69% offer online access to nurses’ notes.

In addition, these hospitals are taking the lead in providing EMR for clinician review. Of the 2004 Most Wired hospitals:

• 88% offer online lab results review;
• 90% offer online radiology report review; and
• 84% have radiology image review.

The 100 Most Wired are the organizations that scored highest on the survey. The 25 Most Wireless are those that scored highest on the survey questions specific to wireless applications. The 25 Most Improved are organizations not appearing on the 100 Most Wired list whose score improved the most from 2003 to 2004. The 25 Most Wired—Small and Rural are small and rural organizations not appearing on the 100 Most Wired list that scored highest on the survey. As a result of a tie, 101 organizations are being recognized as the nation’s Most Wired hospitals and health systems.