Smart use of clinical and business intelligence has helped earn 21 University of Iowa Health Care clinics a spot among an elite few, as they've been awarded a Stage 7 Ambulatory Award from HIMSS Analytics.

[See also: Geisinger CEO gives tips for smarter BI]

Developed in 2011, the Ambulatory EMR Ambulatory Adoption Model tracks the progress and impact of electronic medical records for hospital-owned ambulatory facilities. Stage 7 represents the highest level of EMR adoption. During the fourth quarter of 2013, just 4.33 percent of the more than 20,000 clinics in the HIMSS AnalyticsDatabase received the Stage 7 Ambulatory Award.

"University of Iowa Health has an excellent data-driven culture, with a top performing organization with numerous externally derived benchmarking criteria in use everywhere," said John P. Hoyt, executive vice president HIMSS Analytics, in a press statement. "These facilities utilize a full deployment of the ambulatory EMR, including bar coded medication administration. A very high bar has been set by the University of Iowa."

[See also: Data analytics poised for big growth]

University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, the Hawkeye State's only comprehensive academic medical center and regional referral center, works with UI Children's Hospital to deliver quality care in collaboration with University of Iowa Physicians, the state's largest multi-specialty medical and surgical group. All of these partners collaborate as University of Iowa Health Care, providing patient care and conducting biomedical research.

"This tremendous honor is a tribute to the dedication and hard work of everyone associated with our truly stellar team here at the University of Iowa," said Lee Carmen, associate vice president for information systems with University of Iowa Health Care. "Their commitment to innovative care, excellent service and exceptional outcomes is unsurpassed, and all of us take deep pride in being one of the national leaders in healthcare informatics."