LA GRANDE, OR – Grande Ronde Hospital (GRH) has been recognized as one of only two hospitals in Oregon to achieve Most Wired status in 2016.
According to results of the 18th Annual Health Care’s Most Wired® survey, released July 6, 2016 by the American Hospital Association’s (AHA) Health Forum, Most Wired hospitals are using technology to improve the efficiency of care delivery and create a new dynamic in patient interactions.
“This national recognition affirms Grande Ronde Hospital and its clinics' strategic commitments to the effective use of information technologies (IT) for better quality, safety, and overall patient outcome,” says GRH Senior Director of Information Technology Parhez Sattar.
“This is an achievement for the entire organization; for our use of IT in clinical, financial and business operations. IT Infrastructure is a part of all of that, but the recognition is for all users of various technologies,” Sattar says.
“Hospitals are breaking-out of their traditional four walls and providing care where and when patients need it,” said Rick Pollack, president and CEO of the AHA. “These Most Wired hospitals exemplify this transformation by harnessing technology, engaging patients and offering services remotely. And, removing policy and other barriers to telehealth will allow even faster adoption of these amazing technologies.”
Using technology to build patient engagement
In redefining the way that they provide care in their communities, Most Wired hospitals are using technology to build patient engagement with the individual’s lifestyle in mind, which includes electronic access to their care team.
- 68 percent accept patient-generated data through the patient portal.
- 26 percent of Most Wired organizations offer E-visits through a mobile application.
- 61 percent use social media to provide support groups.
Using technology for intervention and prevention
Most Wired hospitals are utilizing population health management tools and partnering with other health care providers to share critical clinical information used in analyzing interventions aimed at key patient groups, such as those with diabetes. To get patients the right care, hospitals are using predictive modeling to eliminate preventable problems.
- 53 percent interface electronic health record data with population health tools.
- 62 percent stratify patients according to risk.
- 51 percent aggregate data from patient encounters to create a community health record.
Using technology to expand access to care
According to the survey, Most Wired hospitals are also using telehealth to fill gaps in care; provide services 24 hours a day, 7 days a week; and expand access to medical specialists. This year’s results show:
- The top three telehealth services offered in hospitals are consultations and office visits, stroke care, and psychiatric examinations and psychotherapy.
- Stroke care is the most rapid growth area for telehealth services up 38 percent from 2015, as evidence-based studies emphasize the time urgency of stroke care.
- More than 25 percent of hospitals use internet-enabled monitoring devices for chronic disease management of congestive heart failure, diabetes and heart disease.
“Since 2007, Grande Ronde Hospital has actively pursued many avenues for telehealth services. We now proudly boast a successful, and extensive, program, the benefits of which are phenomenal to both patients and providers,” says Executive Director of Patient Care Services Doug Romer.
“Our telehealth program allows us to provide higher levels of care at a cost-effective rate despite our remote, rural status. Thanks to innovative thinking and our advanced technology, we are able to ensure our community has access to the care they deserve,” he says.
The versatility of these mobile technologies makes it possible for clinicians and care team members to have the right tools for sound clinical decision-making wherever they are: 81 percent of Most Wired hospitals use mobile applications to notify clinicians of sudden changes in patient conditions and correlated events such as falls or respiratory distress or failure.
Using technology to strengthen security
As they build out new capabilities, hospitals are also taking strong actions to ensure health data is secure.
- More than 90 percent use intrusion detection systems, privacy audit systems and security incident event management to detect patient privacy breaches, monitor for malicious activities and produce real-time analysis of security alerts.
- 84 percent conduct a third-party security audit annually to ensure that guidelines are followed.
HealthCare’s Most Wired® survey, conducted between Jan. 15 and March 15, 2016, is published annually by Health & Hospitals Networks (H&HN). The 2016 Most Wired® survey and benchmarking study is a leading industry barometer measuring information technology (IT) use and adoption among hospitals nationwide. The survey of 680 participants, representing an estimated 2,146 hospitals—more than 34 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.
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