Three hospitals – in Hawaii and Texas – recently reached Stage 7, the highest level of HIMSS Analytics Electronic Medical Records Adoption Model, which is used to track EMR progress at hospitals and health systems.

They are: Hilo Medical Center in Hilo, Hawaii; Round Rock Hospital of Baylor Scott and White Health System in Round Rock, Texas; and Baylor Scott & White Taylor Hospital in Taylor, Texas. Baylor Scott & White Taylor’s ambulatory clinics received the Stage 7 Ambulatory Awards.

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.

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.
During the third quarter of 2013, 2.2 percent, of the more than 5,400 U.S. hospitals in the HIMSS Analytics Database, received the HIMSS Analytics Stage 7 Award,

[See also: Stage 7 awards are on the upswing.]

"I applaud Hilo Medical Center’s HealthConnect team, our staff and physicians for achieving Stage 7, the highest level in the quality assurance process for the East Hawaii Region’s electronic medical record system," said Howard Ainsley, East Hawaii Regional CEO of Hawaii Health Systems Corporation, in a press statement.

Ainsley credited MEDITECH and Health Systems Informatics as “critical” to enabling Hilo Medical Center to provide top patient care.

"This accomplishment puts our hospital at the highest level of EMR adoption and implementation, which means we have a well-tested system to care for our patients with the highest level of safety, privacy and functionality," he said.

[See also: Hilo Medical Center gets help implementing an EMR.]

"Hilo Medical Center has come a long way in a very short time," said John Daniels, vice president, strategic relations, HIMSS, in a statement. "They have effectively leveraged their internal resources to achieve advanced EMR capabilities with a small budget and without the advantage of external staffing. They are a great case study in how hospitals can achieve big results with minimal resources."