FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Barb Meyer
Executive Director - Corporate Communications
Sisters of Mercy Health System www.mercy.net
v: 314.628-3633
f: 314.628-3734
e: bmeyer@corp.mercy.net
Most Wired Survey Contact: Jennifer Towne
(312) 893-6894
mostwired@healthforum.com
Sisters of Mercy Health System Named One of Nation’s Most Wired Hospitals and Health Systems
Chicago (July 14, 2005)— The Sisters of Mercy Health System (Mercy) has been named on the nation’s Most Wired list, according to the results of the 2005 Most Wired Survey and Benchmarking Study, released Monday.
The nation’s 100 Most Wired hospitals and health systems – those that have invested significantly in health information technology – have lower mortality rates than other hospitals, according to results of a new analysis released today in the July issue of Hospitals & Health Networks magazine. While the new survey does not establish a “cause and effect” relationship between information technology use and improved outcomes, it demonstrates that technology can play an important role in quality.
“We are proud to be counted among the nation’s Most Wired health systems,” said Dick Escue, Chief Information Officer for Mercy. “This award represents Mercy’s ongoing commitment to employing innovative, state-of-the-art information technology that improves our clinical and business practices and allows us to provide the highest quality of care to our patients.”
Since 1999, Hospitals & Health Networks has surveyed the nation’s hospitals on their use of information technology to accomplish key goals, including safety and quality objectives. Based on a detailed scoring process, the magazine annually names the 100 Most Wired Hospitals and Health Systems. This year 502 surveys were submitted, representing 1,255 hospitals.
“There are three key differences in how hospitals apply and use information technology to improve care,” says Alden Solovy, executive editor of Hospitals & Health Networks , the journal of the American Hospital Association (AHA). “The Most Wired use a wider array of IT tools to address quality and safety, they have a significantly larger percentage of physicians who enter orders themselves and they conduct a larger percentage of clinical activities via information technology.”
According to an outcomes analysis conducted for the magazine by Solucient, the 100 Most Wired hospitals have, on average, risk-adjusted mortality rates that are 7.2 percent lower than other hospitals, even after controlling for the size of the hospital and teaching status.
“This is the first analysis showing that the nation’s top tech hospitals also have better outcomes ,” Solovy says. The analysis compared mortality results for the 2005 list of Most Wired with the rest of the nation. Solovy cautions that the analysis does not establish a causal relationship between IT and outcomes.
“It’s not a random observation, even if it is not necessarily cause and effect,” says Kaveh Safavi, M.D., Solucient’s chief medical officer. In fact, hospitals surveyed say that IT is one component of quality.
“Thoughtful institutions that pay attention to quality are also interested in clinical information technology,” says Graham Hughes, M.D., vice president of product strategy for IDX Systems Corp. “This adds increasing weight to the notion that careful implementation of clinical IT contributes to better care.”
Hospital CIOs say that information technology has a key role in both targeted safety efforts and overall systemic improvement to quality and patient safety. “This study reflects the potential for change that is sweeping the industry, ” said Lewis B. Redd, partner, Accenture Health & Life Sciences. “We’re entering an era where the IT-enabled integration and analysis of health information are central to better decisions, processes and outcomes.”
Hospitals & Health Networks conducted the 2005 survey in cooperation with Accenture, IDX Systems Corporation and the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME). The July H&HN cover story detailing results is available at www.hhnmag.com.
The Most Wired Survey and Benchmarking Study measures the nation’s hospitals on their use of information technologies for quality, customer service, public health and safety, business processes and workforce issues. Results from the survey were used to name the 100 Most Wired , as well as the 25 Most Improved, the 25 Most Wireless and the 25 Most Wired —Small and Rural.
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About Mercy
The Sisters of Mercy Health System (Mercy) operates hospitals, physician practices, outpatient clinics, health plans and related health and human services in a seven state area including Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas. Its members include 18 acute care hospitals providing more than 4,000 licensed beds, a heart hospital, a managed care subsidiary (Mercy Health Plans), physician practices, outpatient care facilities, home health programs, skilled nursing services and long-term care facilities. Services are provided by approximately 26,000 co-workers and 3,100 physicians who are employed or practice at Mercy facilities. Mercy is the 9th largest Catholic health care system in the U.S. based on net patient service revenue and is sponsored by the Sisters of Mercy–St. Louis Regional Community.
About the Most Wired Survey and Benchmarking Study
Hospitals & Health Networks , the journal of the American Hospital Association, conducts the Most Wired Survey and Benchmarking Study annually and names the 100 Most Wired . Solucient provides comprehensive, results-oriented information to drive business growth, manage costs, and help deliver quality care. Solucient conducted the mortality analysis. Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company. IDX Systems Corporation is a leading provider of software, services and technologies for health care provider organizations. CHIME was formed with the dual objective of serving the professional development needs of healthcare chief information officers and advocating the more effective use of information management within health care.
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