For the second time in just over a week, HIMSS Analytics has given out a Stage 7 award. Morgantown, W.Va.-based Ruby Memorial Hospital, the flagship hospital for WVU Healthcare, achieved Stage 7, and 30 of its associated ambulatory clinics were honored with Stage 7 Ambulatory Awards.
“Advanced, smart use of the electronic medical record has had a dramatic impact on our ability to support our mission to improve the health of West Virginians and all we serve,” said Kevin Halbritter, MD, chief medical information officer, WVU Healthcare, in a press statement. “Our goal is to deliver the right care in the right place at the right time at all our sites, and technology is helping us make that happen.”
WVU Healthcare includes the teaching hospitals and clinics for WVU’s health professions schools, and serves patients in Ruby Memorial Hospital and in its state-of the art outpatient clinics, offering advanced treatment in an arrary of medical fields.
HIMSS Analytics developed the EMR Adoption Model in 2005 to track progress and impact of electronic medical record systems for hospitals. The final stage, Stage 7, represents an advanced patient record environment, validated by a site visit from an executive from HIMSS Analytics and former or current chief information officers.
Just 2.1 percent of the more than 5,400 U.S. hospitals in the HIMSS Analytics database have reached Stage 7. Only 1.16 percent of 19,085 U.S. ambulatory clinics in the database have attained the same advanced position on HIMSS’ Ambulatory EMRAM.
“The West Virginia University healthcare system has a fully implemented EMR system,” said John P. Hoyt, executive vice president, HIMSS Analytics, in a press statement. “West Virginia is being well served through this interconnected delivery model enabled by their IT investments.”
