Two Adventist Health System Hospitals have been recognized with HIMSS Electronic Medical Record Adoption Model (EMRAM) Stage 7 awards, recognizing outstanding EHR use, according to a press release.
After implementing its EHR system in 2006, Florida Hospital Waterman has been recognized with an initial EMRAM Stage 7 award, while Florida Hospital Carrollwood received EMRAM Stage 7 revalidation.
At Florida Hospital Waterman, hospital leaders have leveraged the EHR to improve patient engagement and safety by incorporating all members of the care team, the patient, and their loved ones into the decision-making process.
“Achievement of HIMSS Analytics EMRAM Stage 7 further demonstrates Florida Hospital Waterman’s commitment to integrate technology and teamwork to improve the quality, safety and efficiency of care we provide our patients,” said David Ottati, president and CEO of Florida Hospital Waterman.
“We are utilizing these advances to better engage physicians, the patient, their loved ones and caregivers in a care plan that ultimately results in safer, more efficient, cost effective care for our patients.”
Specifically, the hospital is using its EHR and other health technologies to help education patients’ families in various health conditions.
According to HIMSS Global Vice President John H. Daniels, CNM, FACHE, FHIMSS, CPHIMS, Florida Hospital Waterman has also implemented the Acute Physiology Age Chronic Health (APACHE). This technology provides graphic representations of a patient’s health status and integrates into the EHR to improve clinical documentation.
At Florida Hospital Carrollwood, health IT serves to help improve care coordination and collaboration between members of the care team. This teamwork has resulted in better patient safety via patient identification and surveillance.
“I am incredibly proud of our team here at Florida Hospital Carrollwood, and the continued efforts each member has made to enhance and improve upon our already strong focus on quality and patient safety,” Florida Hospital Carrollwood President and CEO Joe Johnson said. “Integrating technology to enhance our evidence-based, best-practice medicine ensures our patients receive the best care possible.”
According to Daniels, health technology has helped Carrollwood carry out strong infection prevention. The hospital has managed to improve patient care through strong data analytics and population health management.
“Florida Hospital Carrollwood presented an impressive infection-prevention program driven by analytics strategy,” Daniels explained.
“They have used analytics to implement EMR process interventions that have resulted in a significant decrease in the number of infections over the last year. They are not focused on the information technology itself; they are focused on how best to use it to drive improvements across the organization.”
Florida Hospital Carrollwood was initially awarded with the HIMSS EMRAM Stage 7 recognition in April 2013, according to a press release.
“Florida Hospital Carrollwood is proud to be able to take the lead in patient safety through our use of electronic medical records (EMR) in Hillsborough County,” Johnson said at the time of the award.
“This level of technology integration could not have taken place without the leadership and support of Adventist Health System, which has led the way in the adoption of EMR. With an ongoing commitment from our highly skilled physicians and staff, the use of electronic medical records enables us to continue in our efforts to provide the highest quality and safest care to our patients.”
