COLUMBIA, MD, August 29, 2017— MedStar Health has been named “Most Wired” according to results of the 19^th Annual Health Care’s Most Wired® survey, released last month by the American Hospital Association (AHA) Health Forum. This is MedStar’s 13^th appearance on the list.

“This award recognizes the commitment of our Information Services associates and the many internal business partners to invest in innovative technologies to provide the highest levels of safe, quality patient care,” exclaims Interim Chief Information Officer Mark Schneider.

According to the survey, Most Wired hospitals are transforming care delivery with knowledge gained from data and analytics.  They are investing in analytics to support new delivery models and effective decision-making, and training clinicians on how to use analytics to improve quality, provide access and control costs.

MedStar’s continuing efforts to move to an integrated Electronic Health Record (EHR) through the replacement of Centricity with the Cerner ambulatory system has helped it retain the designation as a “Most Wired” healthcare organization.  As a result, clinicians are making use of the ongoing EHR optimization tools that perform risk assessments and issue appropriate orders based on evidence-based guidelines.  These include the ability to monitor for sepsis, dose range checking and the effective use of lines, tubes and drains with the goal of reducing accidental injury and infection in patients.

The safety of patient information and data is equally important to the safety of care provided to patients, therefore MedStar implemented an ongoing cybersecurity awareness effort to educate associates of cyber risks.  Associates are the first line of defense in keeping data secure.  The effort is supported by numerous technologies, including two-factor authentication, removable media encryption and advanced network monitoring.

“Technology, appropriately supporting our dedicated caregivers, remains a differentiator at MedStar,” notes Kenneth A. Samet, FACHE, president and chief executive officer, MedStar Health.  “As the healthcare industry changes, information plays a vital role in supporting our goal to improve the quality, safety and efficiency of care we provide our patients.”

HealthCare’s Most Wired® survey, conducted between Jan. 15 and March 15, 2017, is published annually by Health & Hospitals Networks (H&HN).  Detailed results of the survey and study can be found in the July issue of H&HN.  For a full list of winners, visit www.hhnmag.com.