The 15th annual Health Care's Most Wired Survey spotlights the hospitals and healthcare systems that have come furthest so far in implementing health IT and putting it to work transforming care.

The survey – conducted by American Hospital Association, the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives, AT&T and McKesson, and published in Hospitals & Health Networks – shows big strides in adoption of technology to improve patient documentation, advance clinical decision support and evidence-based care, reduce medication errors, safeguard data and more.

"This year's Most Wired organizations exemplify progress through innovation," says Rich Umbdenstock, president and chief executive officer of the American Hospital Association, in a press statement. "The hospital field can learn from these outstanding organizations ways that IT can help to improve efficiency."

Conducted between Jan. 15 and March 15, the annual survey polled 1,713 hospitals (roughly one-third of those in the U.S.) about their IT initiatives. Among its findings:


• More than two thirds (69 percent) of "Most Wired" hospitals and 60 percent of all surveyed hospitals report that medication orders are entered electronically by physicians.
• Nearly three-quarters (71 percent) of "Most Wired" hospitals have an electronic disease registry to identify and manage gaps in care across a population, compared with 51 percent of total responders.
• Some 66 percent of "Most Wired" hospitals share patient discharge data with affiliated hospitals, in comparison to 49 percent of the total responders. Meanwhile, 37 percent of "Most Wired" hospitals do so with non-affiliated hospitals versus 24 percent of total responders.


"The concept of health information exchange is absolutely correct. We need to do it and do it in a robust, refined way," said Russell P. Branzell, president and chief executive officer of CHIME, in a statement. "The answer here is standards, standards, standards. We need to standardize the entire process, which we've done in almost every other business sector."

The survey also took a look at big data analytics, gauging hospitals' ability to examine large amounts of patient data to uncover patterns and identify correlations. It found:

[See also: 'Most Wired' hospitals named for 2012]

• Nearly one-third (32 percent) of "Most Wired" hospitals conduct controlled experiments or scenario-planning to make better management decisions.
• More than 40 percent of "Most Wired" hospitals provide a patient portal or Web-based tool for patient-generated data.

"Meaningful use has been a top priority for CIOs and hospital executives, but understanding all of the data will be critical as new relationships continue to evolve," said Rose Higgins, vice president, strategic solutions of McKesson subsidiary RelayHealth in a statement. "Data analytics will be essential to helping hospitals balance quality of care and cost requirements in a new environment of risk-based reimbursement and evidence-based medicine."

"The healthcare industry has lagged behind other industries, such as banking and travel, in tapping technology that can engage the patient and connect the continuum," said Geeta Nayyar, MD, chief medical information officer for AT&T, in a statement. "We are finally seeing real progress as an industry, but there is still more to do."

The list of "Health Care's Most Wired" winners:

Abington (Pa.) Health

Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center & Children’s Hospital | Spokane, Wash.

Providence St. Joseph’s Hospital | Chewelah, Wash.

Pullman (Wash.) Regional Hospital

Rady Children’s Hospital–San Diego

Richard L. Roudebush Veterans Affairs Medical Center | Indianapolis

Riverside Health System | Newport News, Va.

RiverView Health | Crookston, Minn.

Rush Oak Park (Ill.) Hospital

Rush University Medical Center | Chicago

Saint Barnabas Medical Center | Livingston, N.J.  

Saint Francis Care | Hartford, Conn.

Saint Luke’s Health System | Kansas City, Mo.

Saint Peter’s University Hospital | New Brunswick, N.J.

Saint Vincent Health Center | Erie, Pa.

Saint Vincent Hospital | Worcester, Mass.

Samaritan Healthcare | Moses Lake, Wash.

Sanford Aberdeen (S.D.) Medical Center

Sanford Medical Center Fargo (N.D.)

Sanford USD Medical Center | Sioux Falls, S.D.

Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Center | Mattoon, Ill.

Sebasticook Valley Health | Pittsfield, Maine

Sentara Healthcare | Norfolk, Va.

Shands at The University of Florida | Gainesville, Fla.

Sharp HealthCare | San Diego

South Shore Hospital | Weymouth, Mass.

Spooner (Wis.) Health System

St. Vincent’s East | Birmingham, Ala.

St. Charles Health System | Bend, Ore.

St. Clair Hospital | Pittsburgh

St. Dominic–Jackson (Miss.) Memorial Hospital

St. Joseph Mercy Oakland | Pontiac, Mich

St. Joseph Regional Medical Center | Mishawaka, Ind.

St. Joseph’s Healthcare System | Paterson, N.J.

St. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center | Syracuse, N.Y.

St. Luke’s Rehabilitation Institute | Spokane, Wash.

St. Luke’s University Health Network | Bethlehem, Pa.

St. Mary Medical Center | Langhorne, Pa.

St. Vincent’s Birmingham (Ala.)

St. Vincent’s Blount | Oneonta, Ala.

St. Vincent’s St. Clair | Pell City, Ala.

Stanford (Calif.) Hospital and Clinics

Stony Brook University Hospital | Stony Brook, N.Y. 

Summa Health System | Akron, Ohio

Sunnyside (Wash.) Community Hospital

Susquehanna Health | Williamsport, Pa.

SwedishAmerican Hospital | Rockford, Ill.

Syosset (N.Y.) Hospital

Tampa (Fla.) General Hospital

Texas Children’s Hospital | Houston

Texas Health Resources | Arlington

ThedaCare | Appleton, Wis.

Thomas Jefferson University Hospitals | Philadelphia

TMC Healthcare | Tucson, Ariz.

TriHealth | Cincinnati

Trinitas Regional Medical Center | Elizabeth, N.J.

Tripler Army Medical Center | Honolulu

Tri-State Memorial Hospital | Clarkston, Wash.

Truman Medical Centers | Kansas City, Mo.

UCLA Health | Los Angeles

Union Hospital | Terre Haute, Ind.

Union Hospital Clinton (Ind.)

UnityPoint Health | West Des Moines, Iowa

University Health System | San Antonio

University Medical Center | Lubbock, Texas

University of California Davis Health System | Sacramento

University of California, San Diego Health System

University of Illinois Hospital & Health Sciences System | Chicago

University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics | Iowa City

University of Kansas Hospital | Kansas City

University of Mississippi Medical Center | Jackson

University of Missouri Health Care | Columbia

University of New Mexico Hospitals | Albuquerque

University of Pennsylvania Health System | Philadelphia

University of Pittsburgh Medical Center

University of Virginia Medical Center | Charlottesville

University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics

UT Southwestern Medical Center | Dallas

UW Health Partners Watertown ( Wis.) Regional Medical Center

UW Medicine/Valley Medical Center | Renton, Wash.

VA Palo Alto (Calif.) Health Care System | Palo Alto, Calif.

Valley Health System | Ridgewood, N.J.

Vanderbilt University Medical Center | Nashville, Tenn.

VA Northern Indiana Health Care System | Fort Wayne

Veterans Health Administration | Washington, D.C.

Vidant Health | Greenville, N.C.

Virginia Mason Medical Center | Seattle

Washington County Hospital & Nursing Home | Chatom, Ala.

Waterbury (Conn.) Hospital

West Jefferson Medical Center | Marrero, La.

West Virginia University Hospitals | Morgantown 

Whitman Hospital and Medical Center | Colfax, Wash.

William W. Backus Hospital | Norwich, Conn.

Winthrop-University Hospital | Mineola, N.Y.

Womack Army Medical Center | Fort Bragg, N.C.

Yale New Haven (Conn.) Health System 

Health Care's Most Wired Survey also spotlighted the most wired hospital in two other categories: most improved – hospitals that have made the most significant progress – and most wired, small and rural. 

Most Improved

Allegiance Health | Jackson, Mich.

Community Hospital | McCook, Neb.

CoxHealth | Springfield, Mo.

Ephraim McDowell Health | Danville, Ky.

Faith Regional Health Services | Norfolk, Neb.

Fort HealthCare | Fort Atkinson, Wis.

Genesis HealthCare System | Zanesville, Ohio

Hancock Regional Hospital | Greenfield, Ind.

Henry County Hospital | Napoleon, Ohio

Holy Family Memorial | Manitowoc, Wis.

Joint Township District Memorial Hospital | St. Marys, Ohio

Lawrence Hospital Center | Bronxville, N.Y.

Mary Greeley Medical Center | Ames, Iowa

Mercy Health System | Janesville, Wis.

Mount Sinai Medical Center | New York

Norman (Okla.) Regional Health System

North Kansas City (Mo.) Hospital

Phelps Memorial Hospital Center | Sleepy Hollow, N.Y.

Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital at Hamilton (N.J.)

Stormont-Vail HeathCare | Topeka, Kan.

Trinity Health | Minot, N.D.

Union Hospital | Dover, Ohio

United Hospital Center | Bridgeport, W.Va.

University of Chicago Medicine

White Plains (N.Y.) Hospital 

 

Most Wired – Small and Rural:

Acadia Hospital | Bangor, Maine

Aroostook Medical Center | Presque Isle, Maine

Broadlawns Medical Center | Des Moines, Iowa

Carson City (Mich.) Hospital

Evergreen (Ala.) Medical Center

Harrisburg (Ill.) Medical Center |

Inland Hospital | Waterville, Maine

Kewanee (Ill.) Hospital

Littleton (N.H.) Regional Healthcare

Magnolia Regional Health Center

Magruder Hospital | Port Clinton, Ohio

Marcus Daly Memorial Hospital | Hamilton, Mont.

Mercy Hospital Cadillac (Mich.)

Naval Hospital Camp Pendleton (Calif.) |

New London (N.H.) Hospital

Pocono Medical Center | East Stroudsburg, Pa.

Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center | Charleston, S.C.

Rush Memorial Hospital | Rushville, Ind.

Samaritan Regional Health System | Ashland, Ohio

Southampton (N.Y.) Hospital

St. Elizabeth Hospital | Enumclaw, Wash.

Stone County Medical Center | Mountain View, Ark.

Syringa Hospital & Clinics | Grangeville, Idaho

Thayer County Health Services | Hebron, Neb.

Winona (Minn.) Health 

Read the H&HN cover story detailing the "Most Wired" results at www.hhnmag.com.

Erin McCann contributed to this story.

Photo used with permission from Shuttershock.com.