A physicians network in the Mid-Atlantic has been awarded the highest level of electronic medical record adoption, joining the only 6 percent of all ambulatory clinics that have achieved this status. 

 

Lancaster General Health Physicians, an ambulatory clinic composed of more than 300 family physicians and specialists, last week was awarded the HIMSS Analytics Stage 7 Ambulatory Award, which represents the highest level of EMR adoption.  

 

To achieve this status, an ambulatory provider must go beyond implementation of patient portals, CPOE and clinical decision support. It must also be HIE capable, able to exchange data between the EMR and a community-based EHR, in addition to utilizing business and clinical intelligence.  

 

[See also: Cleveland Clinic scores Stage 7 ambulatory award from HIMSS Analytics.]

 

"This award represents the dedication and teamwork of our physicians and employees to transform healthcare," said Thomas E. Beeman, president and CEO of LG Health, in a Dec. 18 statement. "We believe that the successful transition to electronic records in our hospitals and practices sets the foundation for population health. Stage 7 affirms our strong commitment to patient safety, quality of care, process improvements and technologies enabling us to accomplish these goals."

 

Lancaster General Hospital achieved Stage 7 status for hospitals just last year.

 

The IT department at LGH system, which includes Lancaster General Hospital, Women & Babies Hospital and the ambulatory network, is led by Chief Information Officer Gary Davidson. 

 

The health system uses a single, integrated Epic electronic medical record, a $100 million initiative that hospital officials started in 2010. Their IT success stories include clinically integrating all IV pumps with the EMR, as well as full barcoding for pharmacy inventory. Earlier this year, the health system also announced it was moving forward with a big data and analytics initiative, after deploying a SaaS-based population health platform. 

 

Lancaster General Health Physicians joins the other 75 ambulatory clinics in Pennsylvania and the 1,590 nationwide that have achieved Stage 7 on HIMSS Analytics EMRAM scale. Earlier this month, HIMSS also awarded the Cleveland Clinic Health system with a Stage 7 award.