WASHINGTON, July 17, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- U.S. News &
World Report today announced its 2012 list of the Most Connected
Hospitals. The new list identifies 156 U.S. News-ranked hospitals
that are significantly advanced in the adoption of electronic
medical record systems.
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Over the past few years, the electronic medical record—or
EMR—has vaulted into the daily routine of medical professionals
throughout the country. The promise of the EMR is widely
heralded. It could prove to make the delivery of healthcare
safer and more efficient and provide healthcare providers and
patients with better access to health data.
The federal government, through its incentive payments to
physicians and hospitals that demonstrate "meaningful use" of
EMR's, is playing no small part in spurring the technology's
adoption. A small but growing number of hospitals have embraced
EMR's beyond the government benchmarks.
An even smaller subset of those hospitals also succeed in
delivering the superior care that U.S. News recognizes in its Best
Hospitals. For the second year in a row, U.S. News has published a
list of the Most Connected Hospitals to highlight institutions that
are both digitally forward and clinically excellent.
The 156 institutions on this year's Most Connected Hospitals
list have met three challenging standards that put them in the
vanguard of centers leading medicine into the era of electronic
medical records.
Each is distinguished by having captured a national ranking in
the 2012-13 U.S. News Best Hospitals and/or Best Children's
Hospitals rankings or by having earned the designation of
"high-performing" in one or more medical specialties. And each
hospital, or one or more of its major units—such as a children's
hospital within the larger institution—is a leader in moving to
electronic medical records.
The determination of which hospitals are leaders in EMR use was
based on two criteria: First, a hospital had to have satisfied by
July 10, 2012, current U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services requirements for achieving
"meaningful use" of a system of electronic medical records that can
be used for e-prescribing, for electronic exchange of medical
records, for supplying medical data to patients and for providing
data that can be used to monitor clinical quality.
Second, it had to have met strict criteria for EMR use set by
HIMSS Analytics, a division of the nonprofit Healthcare Information
and Management Systems Society that analyzes use of health
information technology. HIMSS Analytics scores hospitals' adoption
of electronic medical records on a scale from Stage 0 (no use of
EMRs) to Stage 7 (full use). Only hospitals at Stage 6 or Stage 7
as of July 10, 2012, were eligible to
appear on the Most Connected Hospitals list.
The complete list of 2012 Most Connected Hospitals can be found
at http://www.usnews.com/connected.
In an exclusive arrangement, the 2012 list of Most Connected
Hospitals is being sponsored by Dell.
Media contact: Health-PR@usnews.com
About U.S. News & World Report
U.S. News & World Report is a multi-platform
publisher of news and analysis, which includes the digital-only
U.S. News Weekly magazine, www.usnews.com, and
www.rankingsandreviews.com. Focusing on Health, Personal Finance,
Education, Travel, Cars, and Public Service/Opinion, U.S.
News has earned a reputation as the leading provider of service
news and information that improves the quality of life of its
readers. U.S. News & World Report's signature franchise
includes its News You Can Use® brand of journalism and its annual
"Best" series of consumer web guides and publications that
include rankings of colleges, graduate schools, hospitals, mutual
funds, health plans, and more.
About Dell
Dell (NASDAQ: DELL) is among the leading providers of IT
services to the healthcare industry providing providers, payers and
pharmaceutical companies with leading business and technology
solutions that extend from the point of care to the data center.
Dell's integrated business process and technology solutions
help hospitals maximize efficiency and reimbursement; achieve
clinical excellence and create communities of practice to more
efficiently deliver patient care. Learn more at
http://content.dell.com/us/en/healthcare/healthcare-solutions.aspx?~ck=bt&~ck=mn.
SOURCE U.S. News & World Report