HIMSS Analytics, the research arm of the Chicago-based Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS), has awarded three Community Healthcare System Hospitals in Indiana with Stage 7 awards.
The award represents Community Healthcare System’s attainment of the highest level on the Electronic Medical Record Adoption Model (EMRAM). 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 second quarter of 2015, only 3.7 percent of the more than 5,400 U.S. hospitals in the HIMSS Analytics Database received the Stage 7 Award.
Community Healthcare System is comprised of three hospitals in Indiana: Community Hospital in Munster, St. Catherine Hospital in East Chicago and St. Mary Medical Center in Hobart, and, Hartsfield Village, a Continuing Care Retirement Community in Munster. The Northwest Indiana healthcare system’s vast network of care locations includes outpatient, surgical and rehabilitation centers, physician practices, behavioral health, occupational health, home care, a medically-based fitness center, cancer research foundation and cancer support center.
“The achievement of HIMSS Level 7 builds upon a long history of our hospitals using technology to improve the quality, safety and efficiency of care,” John Gorski, president and CEO of the Community Healthcare System, said in a statement. “Through the process of integrating an electronic medical record system and leveraging other advances in information technology, Community Healthcare System has become a much more data-driven organization. Most importantly, we are using these new technologies to better engage our patients and the medical community in understanding how best to bring about improvements in healthcare.”
The Community Healthcare System hospitals will be recognized at the 2016 HIMSS Conference & Exhibition on Monday, Feb. 29-Friday, March 4 in Las Vegas, Nev.
