Adventist Midwest Health Recognized for Blazing Paperless Trail

Editor's Note: The following is a release from Adventist Bolingbrook Hospital.

The four suburban hospitals of Adventist Midwest Health have been recognized by a worldwide healthcare information technology association for implementing procedures that will result in a “paperless” hospital system.

, Adventist GlenOaks, Adventist Hinsdale and Adventist La Grange Memorial hospitals are among just 335 hospitals in North America to earn a Stage 6 electronic medical record adoption recognition from HIMSS Analytics, the nonprofit subsidiary of the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society. This recognition has been achieved by just 6.2 percent of the more than 5,300 U.S. hospitals tracked by HIMSS Analytics.

The designation comes a year after Adventist Midwest Health implemented a new, computerized system – called computerized provider order entry system, or CPOE – designed to drastically reduce medical errors and speed up patient care by eliminating handwritten orders for all inpatients. The organization also introduced workstations with document scanners in inpatient units to digitize paper documentation into the electronic medical record, making critical information available within minutes, instead of days. Another recent process improvement was the introduction of Medication Positive Patient Identification (mPPID), which greatly reduces the possibility of a medication or dosing error.

“With these innovations, Adventist Midwest Health stands at the forefront of embracing new medical technology designed to improve patient safety,” said Joe Granneman, Adventist Midwest Health’s chief information officer.

Added Dr. Gary Lipinski, Adventist Midwest Health’s chief medical officer: “A year after implementing CPOE, near-time scanning and mPPID, the positive impact of these processes on patient safety cannot be overstated. We’re ahead of the curve when it comes to implementing new technology to improve patient care.”

Adventist Health System’s corporate vision includes a commitment to be completely paperless by 2015.

Tracking their progress in completing eight stages (0-7) of the EMR Adoption ModelSM, hospitals can review the implementation and utilization of information technology applications with the intent of reaching HIMSS Stage 7, which represents an advanced electronic patient record environment. Stage 6 hospitals:

• have made significant executive commitments and investments to reach this stage;
• appear to have a significant advantage over competitors for patient safety, clinician support, clinician recruitment, and competitive marketing for both consumers and nurse recruitment;
• have almost fully automated/paperless medical records when they have implemented their IT applications across most of the inpatient care settings;
• are either starting to evaluate their data for care delivery process improvements or have already documented significant improvements in this area;
• have made investments that are within reach of most hospitals and recognize the strategic value of improving patient care with the EMR;
• have begun to create strategic alignments with their medical staff to effectively utilize information technology to improve the patient safety environment;
• are 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.

According to HIMSS, Stage 6 hospitals also have achieved a significant advancement in their IT capabilities that positions them to successfully address many of the current industry transformations, such as meaningful use criteria in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), claims attachments for the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), pay for performance, and government quality reporting programs.

“HIMSS Analytics congratulates Adventist Midwest Health for leading the way toward health IT adoption,” said John Hoyt, FACHE, FHIMSS, executive vice president, organizational services, for HIMSS. “Stage 6 represents a level of sophistication that only 6.2 percent of the more than 5,300 U.S. hospitals tracked by HIMSS Analytics have reached to date.”