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Bayhealth recognized for electronic medical records implementation

July 8, 2017

Bayhealth announced that it has achieved the HIMSS Analytics Stage 6 on the EMR Adoption Model. Bayhealth's Stage 6 recognition symbolizes its drive to bring high-quality technology to patients in the community. Last year, Bayhealth implemented the Epic electronic health record, which put the entire healthcare system on the same electronic medical record system.

HIMSS Analytics is a global healthcare advisor providing guidance and market intelligence solutions that move the industry forward with insight to enable better healthcare through the use of information technology. It developed the EMR Adoption Model in 2005 and the Outpatient EMR Adoption Model in 2012 as a methodology for evaluating the progress and impact of electronic medical record systems for hospitals in the HIMSS Analytics LOGIC. Tracking their progress in completing eight stages (0-7), hospitals can review the implementation and utilization information technology applications with the intent of reaching Stage 7, which represents an advanced electronic patient record environment.

Receiving the Stage 6 recognition shows Bayhealth has:

  • Made significant executive commitments and investments
  • Appeared to have a significant advantage over competitors for patient safety, clinician support, clinician recruitment and competitive marketing for both consumers and nurse recruitment
  • Fully automated/paperless medical records thanks to the implementation of IT applications across most of the inpatient and outpatient care settings
  • Started evaluating its data for care delivery process improvements and documenting significant improvements in this area
  • Made investments that are within reach of most hospitals and recognized the strategic value of improving patient care with the EMR
  • Begun to create strategic alignments with its medical staff to effectively utilize information technology to improve the patient safety environment
  • Become well positioned to provide data to key stakeholders, such as payers, the government, physicians, consumers and employers to support electronic health record environments and health information exchanges.

Stage 6 hospitals also have achieved a significant advantage in their IT capabilities that position them to successfully address many of the current industry transformations, such as Meaningful Use criteria in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, claims attachments for the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, pay for performance, and government quality reporting program.

Bayhealth Chief Information Officer Rick Mohnk says this honor shows Bayhealth's strategies are focused on patients and gearing technology to improve the health of the community.

"Technology drives high-quality healthcare and volume improvement," said Bayhealth Chief Medical Information Officer Jonathan Kaufmann, DO. "We didn't do all of this work for the award, but instead because it was the right thing to do for our patients. The HIMSS criteria gave us a framework and proven strategy to do that."

"HIMSS Analytics congratulates Bayhealth for making significant progress toward achieving advanced health IT adoptions," said John H. Daniels, CNM, FACHE, FHIMSS, CPHIMS, global vice president, HIMSS Analytics. "Stage 6 represents a level of sophistication that can lead to innovative healthcare transformation.

For more information, go to www.bayhealth.org.

 

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