By Christina Orlovsky, senior staff writer
In the digital age, consumers have come to expect almost
everything at their fingertips—including quality health care. This year’s 100
“Most Wired” hospitals, as named by Hospitals and Health Networks
magazine, have all gone online to improve patient care.
“Consumers are doing everything from booking travel to
managing their finances from their living room,” explained Alden Solovy,
executive director of Hospitals and Health Networks. “The Most Wired
hospitals provide the same opportunities with health care. This will become the
new house call.”
Since 1999, the magazine, which is the journal of the American
Hospital Association (AHA), has conducted its annual Most Wired survey, focusing
on how hospitals use information technology for a variety of quality indicators,
including customer service, public health and safety, business processes and
workforce issues. This year, 542 surveys were completed by hospitals and health
systems, representing 1,217 hospitals nationwide.
Among the customer services areas improved by technology were
patient education and access to information and health services. In the
education arena, for example, 64 percent of Most Wired hospitals provide online
health coaching for obesity, smoking and chronic conditions.
Improved access to health information and services was
demonstrated by hospitals that offered online physician visits, online
scheduling and registration and online test results. The survey found that 49
percent of Most Wired hospitals allow patients to pre-register for services,
including scheduling tests and appointments; 32 percent allow patients to check
test results online; and 22 percent offer patients the opportunity for virtual
visits with their physician.
Clinical areas that have seen improvement through technology
at Most Wired hospitals include digital imaging, electronic medical records,
computerized physician order entry on prescriptions and telemedicine.
In fact, 99 percent of the Most Wired hospitals provide
digital radiology images in the hospital, compared to 72 percent of the “Least
Wired” hospitals, which were defined as the 100 hospitals scoring lowest on the
survey. Nearly all, or 92 percent, of the Most Wired hospitals have digital
medical records, compared to 61 percent of Least Wired hospitals; and 36 percent
of Most Wired hospitals have physicians electronically ordering medications, as
compared to only 2 percent of Least Wired hospitals.
Staff at Most Wired hospitals also benefit from their
dedication to technology. According to the survey, Most Wired hospitals provide
information technology education resources to staff—including nurses and
physicians—who use IT to train colleagues.
Twelve of this year’s Most Wired hospitals have been included
on the top 100 list since its inception in 1999, including Yale-New Have
Hospital, in New Haven, Connecticut; Intermountain Health Care, in Salt Lake
City, Utah; and MemorialCare Medical Center, in Huntington Beach, California.
Thirteen hospitals entered the list for the first time in 2006.
For more information, visit the Hospitals and Health Networks Web site.
© 2006. AMN Healthcare, Inc. All Rights Reserved.