Palmetto Health named “Most Wired” for 10th time

 

For the 10th time, Palmetto Health is being recognized as one of the “Most Wired®’ organizations by Hospitals & Health Networks magazine. Palmetto Health is one of only seven “Most Wired®” organizations in South Carolina.

According to the survey, technology is making it easier for patients and providers to interact, thus improving communication, safety and patient-provider relationships. New tools are helping patients become more actively involved in their care and maintaining their health, according to results of the 19th Annual Health Care’s Most Wired® survey, released today by the American Hospital Association’s (AHA) Health Forum. Most Wired hospitals are using smart phones, telehealth and remote monitoring to create more ways for patients to access health care services and capture health information. This year’s results show:

 

• 76 percent offer secure messaging with clinicians on mobile devices.
• When patients need ongoing monitoring at home, 74 percent use secure emails for patients and families to keep in touch with the care team.
• 68 percent simplify prescription renewals by letting patients make requests on mobile devices.
• 62 percent add data reported by patients to the electronic health record to get a better picture of what is going on with the patient.
• Nearly half of the hospitals are using telehealth to provide behavioral health services to more patients.
• 40 percent offer virtual physician visits.
• More than 40 percent provide real-time care management services to patients at home for diabetes and congestive heart failure.

Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer Michelle Edwards said, “Receiving this award showcases the commitment Palmetto Health has to investing in technologies that can streamline workflows, improve the experience for our consumers, allow timely access to information, enhance our revenue cycle and support patient safety and clinical quality initiatives. The award also validates that we are aligned with other organizations with the solutions we are implementing that include electronic documentation, telehealth, consumerism, security initiatives, business analytics, and population health so that we’re prepared today and in the future. We are excited about the value information technologybrings to our organization, our care providers and ultimately, our patients.”

Rick Pollack, president and CEO of the AHA added, “The Most Wired® hospitals are using every available technology option to create more ways to reach their patients in order to provide access to care. They are transforming care delivery, investing in new delivery models in order to improve quality, provide access and control costs.”

Innovation in patient care embraces emerging technologies and underscores the need for secure patient information exchange. Hospitals have increased their use of sophisticated IT monitoring systems to detect patient privacy breaches, monitor for malicious activities or policy violations and produce real-time analysis of security alerts.

• 97 percent use intrusion detection systems.
• 96 percent perform data access audits.
• Nearly 90 percent run targeted phishing exercises to teach employees to question suspicious emails.

Most Wired® hospitals are transforming care delivery with knowledge gained from data and analytics. They are investing in analytics to support new delivery models and effective decision making and training clinicians on how to use analytics to improve quality, provide access and control costs.

• 82 percent analyze retrospective clinical and administrative data to identify areas for improving quality and reducing the cost of care.
• Three-quarters use sophisticated analytics such as predictive modeling and data to improve decision-making.
• Nearly 70 percent interface electronic health record data with population health tools for care management.
• More than 70 percent are providing data analytic tools training to physicians and nurses.
• 45 percent initiate a patient pathway using health IT to follow a care plan.
• Nearly 40 percent deliver quality metrics to physicians at the point-of-care.
• 32 percent have tools for real-time patient identification and tracking for value-based care conditions, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

HealthCare’s Most Wired® survey, conducted between Jan. 15 and March 15, 2017, is published annually by Health & Hospitals Networks(H&HN). The 2017 Most Wired® survey and benchmarking study is a leading industry barometer measuring information technology (IT) use and adoption among hospitals nationwide. The survey of 698 participants, representing an estimated 2,158 hospitals — more than 39 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 Palmetto Health

Palmetto Health, the largest health care system in the South Carolina Midlands region and one of the state’s largest employers, comprises more than 15,000 team members, physicians and volunteers working together to fulfill Palmetto Health’s Vision: To be remembered by each patient as providing the care and compassion we want for our families and ourselves. The system includes six acute-care hospitals in the Midlands—Palmetto Health Baptist, Palmetto Health Baptist Parkridge, Palmetto Health Children’s Hospital, Palmetto Health Heart Hospital, Palmetto Health Richland and Palmetto Health Tuomey. In the South Carolina Upstate region, Palmetto Health also co-owns Baptist Easley Hospital. Recognized nationally as one of the best places to work and receive care, the system also includes the Palmetto Health-USC Medical Group, the region’s largest multispecialty group, which serves as the entry point to the health care system with more than 500 providers serving patients in more than 80 practices and nearly 100 locations. Palmetto Health also is supported by two 501 (c)(3) foundations, and trains the next generation of physicians through its 24 residency and fellowship programs affiliated with the University of South Carolina School of Medicine. For more information, visit PalmettoHealth.org or call 803-296-CARE (2273).

 About the Most Wired Survey 
The 2017 Most Wired Survey® is conducted in cooperation with the American Hospital Association and Clearwater Compliance, LLC.

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, visitwww.healthforum.com.