Middlesex Hosptial Named Among Nations Most Wired

In its July issue, Hospitals and Health Networks Magazine recognized as one of the nation’s Most Wired after the results of the 2012 Most Wired Survey were released on July 10. 

As a field, hospitals have recognized the immediate necessity for advancement of information technology within the health care system and are working hard to expand and implement new strategies that protect patient data, optimize patient flow and communication and improve efficiency.

Health Care’s Most Wired Survey, conducted between Jan. 15 and March 15, asked hospitals and health systems nationwide to answer questions regarding their IT initiatives. Respondents completed 662 surveys, representing 1,570 hospitals, or roughly 27 percent of all U.S. hospitals.  Some of the survey’s key findings this year are:

• Ninety-three percent of Most Wired hospitals employ intrusion detection systems to protect patient privacy and security of patient data, in comparison to seventy-seven percent of the total responders.  
• Seventy-four percent of Most Wired hospitals and fifty-seven percent of all surveyed hospitals use automated patient flow systems.
• Ninety percent of Most Wired hospitals and seventy three percent of all surveyed use performance improvement scorecards to help reduce inefficiencies.
• One hundred percent of Most Wired hospitals check drug interactions and drug allergies when medications are ordered as a major step in reducing medication errors

The study also found that nearly one half of the Most Wired Hospitals utilizes social media for community outreach and crisis communication as well as find that more than 25 percent offer care management messages and chats with physicians.

Participants in the study received a detailed assessment of their own advancement of successfully implementing measures that successfully utilize information technology in order to help them benchmark themselves against other organizations. Middlesex Hospital was ranked among the best.

“Middlesex Hospital has a long tradition of advanced information technology and is committed to creating the safest environment with the very best outcomes for our patients. In 1998, we were one of the first hospitals in the country to create a Web-based community health information network that served the health care needs of 250,000 people in Middlesex County.

"Since then, we have consistently enhanced and added to our information technology capabilities to provide some of the finest clinicians in the state with information to aid them in caring for and treating patients. It is an honor to be recognized as one of the 100 Most Wired hospitals in the country,” said Middlesex Hospital Vice President for Information Technology.

For more information about Middlesex Hospital you can visit their website at www.middlesexhospital.org.  You can also follow them on Facebook by clicking HERE.