HIMSS Analytics, the research arm of the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS), has announced that Tampa General Hospital (TGH) has received the acute care Stage 7 award. The award represents attainment of the highest level on the Electronic Medical Records Adoption Model (EMRAM), which is used to track EMR progress at hospitals and health systems.
HIMSS Analytics developed the EMR Adoption Model in 2005 as a methodology for evaluating the progress and impact of electronic medical record 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 chief information officers to ensure an unbiased evaluation of the Stage 7 environments.
During the third quarter of 2013, 2.2 percent, of the more than 5,400 U.S. hospitals in the HIMSS Analytics database, received the HIMSS Analytics Stage 7 Award.
Tampa General is a 1,018-bed academic medical center on the west coast of Florida that serves as the region’s only center for Level l trauma, comprehensive burn care, and adult solid organ transplants. It is the primary teaching hospital for the University of South Florida Health Morsani College of Medicine, and is a comprehensive stroke center and a state-certified spinal cord and brain injury rehabilitation center.
“Tampa General Hospital has a data-focused culture. It has been focusing on value-based purchasing metrics so that staff are fully ready for the upcoming payment reform initiative,” said John H. Daniels, vice president, strategic relations, HIMSS. “TGH is a very large organization, with 1,018 licensed beds, that has created a process with decentralized scanning and centralized indexing. This means that all paper is scanned on the units within 30 minutes of creation/receipt and is indexed centrally by health information management within 60 minutes.”
The hospital will be recognized at the 2014 Annual HIMSS Conference & Exhibition on Feb. 24-26, 2014, in Orlando, Fla.
