Florida Hospital Carrollwood, an Adventist Health System facility, has received Stage 7 award from HIMSS Analytics.

The award represents attainment of the highest level on the HIMSS Analytics/directory/analytics" target="_blank" class="directory-item-link">Analytics Electronic Medical Records Adoption Model, which is used to track EMR progress at hospitals and health systems.

Florida Hospital Carrollwood is a 120-bed community hospital specializing in general medicine, general surgery, orthopedic surgery, knees and joints, spine surgery, wound care, ENT, bariatric weight loss surgery, occupational health, as well as other services.

As of the first quarter of 2013, the hospital, located in Tampa, Fla., is among the 106 U.S. facilities, or 1.95 percent, of the more than 5,000 U.S. hospitals in the HIMSS Analytics Database, to be awarded the HIMSS Analytics Stage 7 Award.

[See also: Florida Hospital joins Stage 7 elite.]

"Florida Hospital Carrollwood is proud to be able to take the lead in patient safety through our use of electronic medical records (EMR) in Hillsborough County," said Joe Johnson, Florida Hospital Carrollwood CEO, in a news release. "This level of technology integration could not have taken place without the leadership and support of Adventist Health System, which has led the way in the adoption of EMR. With an ongoing commitment from our highly skilled physicians and staff, the use of electronic medical records enables us to continue in our efforts to provide the highest quality and safest care to our patients."

Florida Hospital Carrollwood has succeeded in implementing an entirely paperless system of medical records, officials noted. Advantages to this level of technological advancement include the ability to share patient information with other healthcare providers via a secure standardized summary record and using a vast database of clinical information to improve care, patient safety and outcomes.

[See also: Two health systems awarded Stage 7.]

"We are excited to see the addition of Florida Hospital Carrollwood to the list of Stage 7 hospitals in the Adventist Health System," said John Hoyt, executive vice president, HIMSS Analytics, in a statement.

HIMSS Analytics developed the EMR Adoption Model in 2005 as a methodology for evaluating the progress and impact of electronic medical record systems for hospitals in the HIMSS Analytics Database. There are eight stages (0-7) that measure a hospital’s implementation and utilization of information technology applications. The final stage, Stage 7, represents an advanced patient record environment. The validation process to confirm a hospital has reached Stage 7 includes a site visit by an executive from HIMSS Analytics and former or CIOs to ensure an unbiased evaluation of the Stage 7 environments.