Florida Hospital North Pinellas, an Adventist Health System facility in Tarpon Spring, Fla., has earned a HIMSS Analytics Stage 7 Award. The award represents attainment of the highest level on the Electronic Medical Record Adoption Model (EMRAM), which is used to track EMR progress at hospitals and health systems.

Adventist Health System supports 43 hospitals in 10 states and employs nearly 55,000 individuals. As a 168-bed, full-service hospital, Florida Hospital North Pinellas serves both the Pinellas and Pasco communities of west central Florida.

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

“Adventist Health System, through Florida Hospital North Pinellas, is leading the way in electronic medical records adoption thanks to our skilled physicians and staff,” said Bruce Bergherm, Florida Hospital North Pinellas CEO. “Locally, it takes a significant amount of time and manpower to ensure we are using the systems appropriately, something that would have been even more challenging without the support and leadership from Adventist Health System. Becoming only the second hospital in Florida to accomplish this high level of technological integration and advancement demonstrates our dedication to offering the highest quality and safest care to our patients.”

“This hospital has come a long way in a very short time, after implementing 85 different systems in February 2012,” said John P. Hoyt, executive vice president, HIMSS Analytics. “It is obvious to me that all staff was behind the transition to an EMR and see the value in its use."

As of Quarter 3, 2012, Florida Hospital North Pinellas is among the 103 U.S. facilities, or 1.9 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: Truman Medical Center achieves Stage 7.]

Florida Hospital North Pinellas will be recognized at the 2013 Annual HIMSS Conference & Exhibition in New Orleans, on March 3-7.

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 use 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 current chief information officers to ensure an unbiased evaluation of the Stage 7 environments.