Kaiser Permanente Hawaii’s 22 ambulatory care facilities statewide have achieved Stage 7 Ambulatorycertification from Healthcare Information and Management System Society (HIMSS), a leading health care information technology and data analytics firm. Considered the highest level of electronic medical record (EMR) integration, Stage 7 awardees have achieved the steps necessary to obtain a paperless environment while continuing to support secure sharing and use of patient data among patients and their caregivers, to improve quality of care, process performance and patient safety.
HIMSS Analytics’ EMR Adoption ModelSM comprises eight stages (0 through 7) to measure the progress of health care facilities implementing electronic patient record systems. Stage 7 evaluation is conducted via an extensive on-site visit, in which ambulatory clinics must demonstrate their ability to share patient clinic information within the entire health care network via electronic transaction, and support the sharing and comprehensive use of health and wellness information by consumers and providers. In addition, Stage 7 providers can utilize data warehousing and mining techniques to analyze patient care data, in order to identify operational weaknesses and improve procedures.
“Kaiser Permanente has made a significant investment in our electronic medical record (EMR) system, which enables us to better monitor and manage our members’ health conditions in a timely and effective manner,” said Grant Okawa, MD, associate medical director of knowledge management for Hawaii Permanente Medical Group. “We’re honored that all of our clinics received the recognition they deserve for this important work to support safe, high-quality care.”
Kaiser Permanente Hawaii joins 350 ambulatory clinics in the Kaiser Permanente national network in receiving the Stage 7 Ambulatory Award. In 2011, Kaiser Permanente’s Moanalua Medical Center became the first hospital in Hawaii to receive HIMSS’s Stage 7 Hospital Award.
Technology Innovations at Kaiser Permanente
Kaiser Permanente is nationally recognized for innovative health care technology and continues to accelerate the adoption of digital healthcare in the state, including the recent implementation of a “medical selfie” feature allowing patients to send photos of their medical problems to their physician. Online features such as access to lab and X-ray results, prescription refills, appointment scheduling and patient-physician communication are made possible through My Health Manager, Kaiser Permanente’s fully integrated and secure electronic member access system
