Among new rigor and expanded measurement for the rankings, Riverside remains poised for the future of health care IT.
Newport News, Va. – With added determination and skill, Riverside has continued to be recognized for its leadership in Information technology and is the only health system in Virginia to be recognized for 14 straight years.
The 2018 rankings were managed for the first time by CHIME, with added criteria and transparency necessary to demonstrate quality in health care IT. Even with the added rigor, Riverside has remained among the top systems for fourteen of the twenty years the ranking has been in place.
The Most Wired ranking has long reinforced the role that technology plays to enhance patient care and quality. According to CHIME, the 2018 rankings go even further to emphasize the critical role that technology has to play in order to deliver evidence-based care that is cost effective and demonstrates a system’s commitment to delivering the very best care.
There was a time when simply having an electronic health record was as wired as a health system could be. In today’s health care environment, health systems need to demonstrate that they are using the technology and data in concert with clinical leaders to positively impact patient care.
“It is no longer acceptable to operate in silos; all our disciplines need to work together,” said Bill Downey, President and CEO of Riverside Health System. “We need to demonstrate that we can apply the technology and the information strategically to improve outcomes and enhance patient safety.”
Riverside has been and continues to be a leader in providing the best tools to its physicians, advanced practice providers and clinical staff by investing early in proven, worthwhile technologies. Riverside launched a new electronic health record platform last year – a move that brought several technology programs under the same system so that patients receiving care in any Riverside setting (outpatient, inpatient, emergency, etc.) shared one complete medical record. Crossing that milestone allowed Riverside to do even more with the integration of technology into every patient encounter. And patients have a greater role to play with even more functionality offered through Riverside MyChart, where patients can schedule appointments, order prescription refills, communicate with their provider, view test results and manage a loved one’s care with proxy access.
“We want our patients to be engaged in their care, and we know that giving them access to their medical information is an important part of that process,” said Dr. Charles Frazier, Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Information and Innovation Officer at Riverside.
In conjunction with the Most Wired listing, CHIME has released a report that outlines the national trends in health care IT based on all survey results. It begins to look at health IT in two ways. First, as foundational technologies that focus on integration and interoperability as well as cybersecurity. Moving beyond foundational, CHIME also finds that health systems need to focus on transformational technologies, which allow providers to apply data more strategically. Information from the report is available in the attachment.
“As health care moves toward managing populations, increasing value in health care and creating patient-centered experiences, technology is a critical piece of the puzzle,” said Dennis Loftus, Riverside's Chief Information Officer and Senior Vice President. “However, technology alone will not get you there. We need to use technology to make information accessible and make a patient’s experience more intuitive. We are moving in the right direction.”