CRMC 11-6-18
Cheyenne Regional Medical Center has been recognized as one of “Health Care’s Most Wired®” hospitals for the fifth consecutive year. CRMC is one of two stand-alone hospitals in Wyoming and one of 254 hospitals or health systems in the nation or from abroad to receive the award for 2018.
The Most Wired program recognizes hospitals and health systems that adopt information technology and also apply it strategically to achieve great patient outcomes, according to the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME). CHIME took over the Most Wired program in 2017.
“The Most Wired survey continues to gauge an organization’s level of IT adoption, sophistication, usefulness, security and disaster preparedness,” said Jody Siltzer, CRMC’s information technology officer/IT executive director. “But this year the survey took an even closer look at each organization’s IT strengths and gaps.”
This year’s report reveals that more and more organizations are embracing foundational technologies that focus on integration, interoperability, security and disaster recovery.
“These are all areas that we score very well on,” Siltzer said. “Cybersecurity in particular is a major emphasis for us. We continue to make significant investments to keep our IT systems safe.”
This year’s report also highlights the increasing use of transformational technologies that support population health, value-based care, patient engagement and telehealth.
“Many of our clinics are focused on helping their patients manage chronic conditions such as diabetes,” Siltzer said. “Our IT department has provided the clinics with programs and tools that help support this work. Our department has also supported the development of telehealth and telemedicine in several of our service areas.”
As in the past, the 2018 report also determines if an organization is using technology in ways that improve patient outcomes, protect patient information, improve patient-provider communication and prepare the organization for the future.
“Our technology makes it easier for patients and providers to interact, thereby improving communication, safety and patient-provider relationships,” Siltzer said. “The result of implementing these tools and teaching our community members how to use them is overall better patient care.”
In 2018 the Most Wired survey had 647 participants representing 2,190 hospitals from nine countries. This is the 20th year that the survey has been conducted.
“Healthcare IT has the potential to revolutionize care around the world, but to meet that potential it must be used strategically,” said Russell Branzell, president and chief executive officer of CHIME. “While the technology is important, leadership and a strategic vision are equally important. Most Wired is a tribute to the organizations and dedicated people in them who are transforming healthcare and improving patient outcomes.”
“The Most Wired recognition demonstrates the excellence we strive for at Cheyenne Regional Medical Center and our affiliated medical groups,” Siltzer said. “Participation helps us gauge where we’re at—where we are doing well and where we can make improvements. While we don’t do this to win awards, it’s certainly nice for our health system and our IT department to be recognized in this way.”
An overview of the Most Wired survey and the full list of winners is available at https://chimecentral.org/chime-most-wired/.
