For the third consecutive year, Virtua has been recognized as one of the “Most Wired” hospitals in the U.S. by the American Hospital Association’s Health Forum and the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME).
Virtua was honored for its technological capability — an essential element in meeting the emerging requirements of national health care reform.
Information technology (IT) at Virtua plays a part in every aspect of patient care to assure quality, security, safety and patient care.
“Virtua recognizes that advanced technology is crucial to providing excellent patient care, protecting patient health information and maintaining efficient operations”, said Virtua president and CEO Richard P. Miller.
“We made an early commitment to develop a powerful IT program, and we have been recognized for our commitment to patient quality, safety, security and access to care.”
Virtua met specific requirements in each of these four areas to achieve Most Wired status: Infrastructure, Business and administrative management, Clinical quality and safety (inpatient/outpatient hospital) and Clinical integration (ambulatory/physician/patient/community)
“The Most Wired designation is a key measurement that highlights the successful efforts of many people at Virtua, both technical and clinical, who implement and leverage technology to improve the care provided to our patients,” said Tom Gordon, Virtua Chief Information Officer. “Without their skill and dedication, Virtua technology would not be where it is today.”
In recent years, Virtua’s IT team has introduced an integrated ambulatory electronic medical record and practice management solution among all physician practices. Virtua has also deployed an inpatient clinical documentation solution, physician documentation, device integration, a platform to support Population Health and, most recently, clinical decision support, disease specific surveillance solutions, clinical alerts, and real-time patient safety and quality dashboards.
Virtua is currently installing technology focusing on patient engagement, such as Telehealth, online scheduling, and more devices to facilitate the highest level of health care in the home. Going forward, Virtua’s strategy will consist of tighter integrated platforms across the continuum of care providing our clinicians with the data to support patient care across all environments.
Virtua plans to transition to Epic, the next generation information and electronic health record (EHR) system. Designed for a range of functions, Epic offers clinical and financial systems, registration and scheduling capabilities and the ability for patients to access their own health information.
“This award honors all of Virtua’s information services infrastructure, application, informatics and project management representatives who have worked tirelessly to deliver patient centric solutions focusing on care, intelligence and innovation,” said Gordon. “We congratulate them on a job well done.”
