Ruby Memorial Hospital, the Morgantown, W.Va.-based flagship hospital for WVU Healthcare, has been recognized by HIMSS Analytics, the research arm of the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS), with its Stage 7 Award, and 30 of WVU Healthcare’s associated ambulatory clinics have been recognized with Stage 7 Ambulatory Awards.
WVU Healthcare includes the teaching hospitals and clinics for WVU’s health professions school, and serves patients in Ruby Memorial Hospital and in its outpatient clinics.
HIMSS Analytics developed the EMR Adoption Model in 2005 as a methodology for evaluating the progress and impact of electronic medical record (EMR) systems for hospitals in the HIMSS Analytics database. There are eight stages (0-7) that measure a hospital’s implementation and utilization of information technology applications. The final stage, Stage 7, represents an advanced patient record environment. The validation process to confirm a hospital has reached Stage 7 includes a site visit by an executive from HIMSS Analytics and former or current CIOs to ensure an unbiased evaluation of the Stage 7 environments.
Similarly, developed in 2011, the EMR Ambulatory Adoption Model provides a methodology for evaluating the progress and impact of EMR systems for ambulatory facilities owned by hospitals in the HIMSS Analytics database. These facilities include physician practices, clinics, outpatient centers, and specialty clinics.
During the second fiscal quarter of 2013, 2.1 percent, of the more than 5,400 U.S. hospitals in the HIMSS Analytics database, received the HIMSS Analytics Stage 7 Award, and only 1.16 percent of the more than 19,085 U.S. ambulatory clinics in the HIMSS Analytics database, received the Stage 7 Ambulatory Award.
Just last week, HIMSS Analytics recognized the Winston-Salem, N.C.-based Novant Health, a four-state integrated network of physician clinics, outpatient facilities and medical centers with its Stage 7 Ambulatory Award.
“Advanced, smart use of the electronic medical record has had a dramatic impact on our ability to support our mission to improve the health of West Virginians and all we serve,” Kevin Halbritter, M.D., CMIO, WVU Healthcare, said in a statement. “Our goal is to deliver the right care in the right place at the right time at all our sites, and technology is helping us make that happen.”
The hospital will be recognized at the 2014 Annual HIMSS Conference & Exhibition on Feb. 24-26, 2014, in Orlando, Fla.
