"This top-level achievement underscores our commitment to implementing the most advanced tools and technologies to improve patient engagement, experience, and safety, and we are honored to be named among the country’s health care technology leaders," said Robert White, MD, CMIO, AHN.
PITTSBURGH (PRWEB) October 17, 2019
Allegheny General Hospital, Allegheny Valley Hospital, Canonsburg Hospital, Forbes Hospital, Jefferson Hospital, Saint Vincent Hospital, West Penn Hospital, and Westfield Memorial Hospital, all part of Allegheny Health Network (AHN), have been recognized by the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) as Most Wired® hospitals in 2019.
Most Wired® is the industry-leading survey and recognition on IT adoption and innovation in health systems across the country designed to identify, recognize, and certify the adoption, implementation, and use of information technology by healthcare provider organizations. The results are intended to improve patient safety and outcomes by driving change in the healthcare IT industry.
All eight AHN hospitals achieved Most Wired Certified Level 8 (8/10), receiving the Quality Award for both its hospitals and ambulatory Epic system, placing AHN among top leaders in the healthcare technology industry and making AHN the highest rated health system in western PA on a single patient record system.
Forbes Hospital, a 315-bed facility located in the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh, was the first of AHN’s eight hospitals to implement the Epic electronic health records system in 2015. Since then, the platform has been launched at the network’s two largest hospitals in the city, Allegheny General and West Penn, as well as across most of the system’s employed physician practices and at several of its large outpatient centers. AHN’s Jefferson Hospital in Jefferson Hills, PA, Canonsburg Hospital in Canonsburg, PA, Saint Vincent Hospital in Erie, PA, Allegheny Valley Hospital in Allegheny Valley, PA, and Westfield Memorial Hospital in Westfield, NY implemented Epic in 2017 and 2018.
In addition to implementing systems such as Epic, Level 8 organizations have deployed technologies and strategies such as population health and cost-of-care analytics, telehealth, and patient portals, to expand access to care and improve clinical and efficiency outcomes.
“At AHN, we continue to take advantage of services like teleconferencing and same day patient visits, and we’re using analytics in innovative and meaningful ways to help improve patient outcomes,” said Robert White, MD, Chief Medical Information Officer at AHN. “This top-level achievement underscores our commitment to implementing the most advanced tools and technologies to improve patient engagement, experience, and safety, and we are honored to be named among the country’s health care technology leaders.”
About Allegheny Health Network
Allegheny Health Network (AHN.org), a Highmark Health company, is an integrated healthcare delivery system serving the greater western Pennsylvania region. The Network is composed of eight hospitals — Allegheny General Hospital, its flagship academic medical center in Pittsburgh; Allegheny Valley Hospital in Natrona Heights; Canonsburg Hospital in Canonsburg; Forbes Hospital in Monroeville; Jefferson Hospital in Jefferson Hills; Saint Vincent Hospital in Erie; West Penn Hospital in Pittsburgh; and Westfield Memorial Hospital in Westfield, NY. The Network provides patients with access to a complete spectrum of advanced medical services, including nationally recognized programs for primary and emergency care, cardiovascular disease, cancer care, orthopedic surgery, neurology and neurosurgery, women’s health, diabetes and more. It also is home to a comprehensive research institute; Health + Wellness Pavilions; an employed physician organization, home and community-based health services, and a group purchasing organization. The Network employs approximately 21,000 people, has more than 2,300 physicians on its medical staff, and serves as a clinical campus for Drexel University College of Medicine, Temple University School of Medicine, and the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine.