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This honor is the result of years of planning, says Ed Bauknecht, director of HFM's Management Information Systems. "This national recognition is the culmination of many years of hard work by several individuals; not only in MIS, but all of the HFM staff who have dedicated time and talent in the implementation process and are committed to the use of these electronic tools to enhance patient safety," said Bauknecht. "HIMSS Analytics has confirmed just how far HFM has traveled down the road of EMR."
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Steven Driggers, MD, HFM's Chief Medical Officer, also stresses that this designation is a key quality indicator that benefits all HFM customers. "Being a Stage 6 hospital reinforces HFM's commitment to quality care," said Driggers. "It better positions us to have the capability to provide data on quality of care and to successfully address industry transformations in the future. For the patient and all customers, it means a continued focus on improving care delivery to ensure quality and value throughout our organization."
HIMSS Analytics created the EMR Adoption Model (EMRAM) to identify the levels of EMR capabilities, ranging from an environment at Stage 0 with few to no clinical applications, through Stage 7, an EMR environment where paper records are not used to manage or support patient care, data is mined and analyzed to improve care delivery performance, and data can be easily exchanged between care provider settings. In essence, the EMRAM provides a methodology for evaluating the progress and impact of EMR systems.
"HIMSS Analytics congratulates Holy Family Memorial, Inc. for leading the way toward healthcare IT adoption," said Mike Davis, executive vice president of HIMSS Analytics. "Stage 6 represents a level of sophistication that only 50 U.S. hospitals have reached to date."
CareTech Solutions, Inc. (www.CareTechSolutions.com), a health information technology (IT) and Web products and services provider for hospitals and health systems nationwide, has served as Holy Family Memorial's healthcare IT provider since 2007. CareTech helped bring Holy Family Memorial's EMR vision to life by providing a full spectrum of IT services in support of the hospital's data center operations, service desk, desktop, network, and applications. CareTech also manages Holy Family Memorial's MIS staff, and provides technical resources for implementation of Holy Family Memorial's strategic information technology plan.
"Holy Family Memorial's achievement of Stage 6 on the HIMSS Analytics EMR Adoption Model Scale is an outstanding and rare achievement in support of patient care, and stands as the model for other U.S. hospitals to emulate when it comes to healthcare IT adoption and use," said Jim Giordano, president and CEO of CareTech Solutions. "We're delighted to have offered our healthcare IT expertise to help Holy Family Memorial address and embrace the national vision for the role technology should play in helping to provide quality, affordable patient care."
LSS Data Systems, a MEDITECH partner, supplies the core ambulatory EMR and practice management system to Holy Family Memorial.
"We congratulate our colleagues at Holy Family Memorial on this remarkable achievement," said Bill Schmidt, LSS vice president of sales and corporate development. "Reaching Stage 6 on the HIMSS Analytics EMR Adoption Model puts them in an elite category, among less than one percent of healthcare organizations nationally."
According to HIMSS Analytics, Stage 6 hospitals:
About Holy Family Memorial Health Network
Holy Family Memorial is a comprehensive non-profit health care network made up of highly qualified health professionals dedicated to providing quality medical care to the residents of Manitowoc County, Wisconsin. Founded by the Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity, Holy Family Memorial is the recognized leader and the largest provider of health care services in Manitowoc County. Its network of physicians provides each patient with the highest level of personal care, respect and attention to enhance his or her quality of life, including personalized spiritual care. For more information please visit: www.hfmhealth.org
About CareTech Solutions, Inc.
CareTech Solutions, Inc., an information technology and Web products and services provider for hospitals and health systems, creates value for clients through customized solutions that contribute to improving patient care while lowering healthcare costs. From implementing emerging technologies to supporting day-to-day operations, CareTech offers clients expert services across the entire patient data lifecycle.
CareTech Solutions won a coveted 2008 Best in KLAS award for the IT Outsourcing (Extensive) category, as ranked by healthcare executives and professionals in the 2008 Top 20 Best in KLAS Awards report. CareTech's Best in KLAS distinction follows the company's achievement of top overall performance scores in KLAS' 2008 Extensive IT Outsourcing Study. CareTech's overall performance score was 94.6 on a 100-point scale - the top score among six competing extensive IT outsourcing firms cited in the report, and the highest score KLAS has measured since first measuring extensive IT outsourcing performance in 2005. CareTech earned 100-percent scores in each of the "business indicator" categories of Would You Buy it Again, Avoids Nickel-and-Diming, Keeps all Promises, Services Delivered within Budget/Cost and Would You Recommend to a Friend/Peer.
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For more information, please visit www.caretechsolutions.com.
About LSS Data Systems
LSS Data Systems, a MEDITECH partner founded in 1982, develops clinical, financial and administrative solutions for medical practice groups, healthcare delivery systems and clinics across the United States and internationally. Together with MEDITECH, LSS has developed the Medical and Practice Management (MPM) Suite, a full-featured ambulatory care solution that integrates physician practices and clinics with MEDITECH's Health Care Information System. For more information please visit http://www.lssdata.com.
-- Have made significant executive investments to reach this stage; -- Appear to have a significant advantage over competitors for patient safety, clinician support, clinician recruitment, and competitive marketing for both consumers and nurse recruitment; -- Have almost fully automated/paperless medical records; -- Are either starting to evaluate their data for care delivery process improvements, or have already documented significant improvements in this area; -- Have made investments that are within reach of most hospitals and recognize the strategic value of improving patient care with the EMR; -- Are poised to provide data to key audiences (e.g., payers, the government, physicians, consumers, and employers) to support electronic health record (EHR) environments and health information exchanges (HIEs); and -- Have achieved a significant advancement in their IT capabilities that positions them to successfully address many of the upcoming industry transformations we will be experiencing in the near future, such as HIPAA Claims Attachment, pay for performance, and government quality reporting programs.
SOURCE CareTech Solutions, Inc.
