VCU news

By Carissa Etters

VCU Health has been named among the Most Wired health care organizations in the country for 2016. The results of the 18th annual Health Care’s Most Wired survey, released today by the American Hospital Association’s Health Forum, indicate technology is improving the efficiency of care delivery and creating a new dynamic in patient interactions.

According to the survey, Most Wired organizations are using technology to build patient engagement with the individual’s lifestyle in mind, which includes electronic access to their care team. This past year VCU Health continued its focus on patient portal expansion and real-time visibility of clinic notes, which is called OpenNotes.

“VCU continues to expand upon its robust patient portal,” said Colin Banas, M.D., chief medical information officer, VCU Health System. “Within the last year we opened up our clinic notes to allow patients to read the notes their physician writes instantaneously. This is a powerful step forward in patient engagement, transparency and improving patient outcomes. The response from our patient community is overwhelmingly positive, and we’re just getting started.”

Most Wired organizations, including VCU Health, are utilizing population health management tools and partnering with other health care providers to share critical clinical information used in analyzing interventions aimed at key patient groups, such as those with diabetes. To get patients the right care, health care organizations are using predictive modeling to eliminate preventable problems. While VCU Health continues to build out new technology capabilities, it also continues to strengthen cybersecurity to ensure health data is secure.

HealthCare’s Most Wired® survey, conducted between Jan. 15 and March 15, is published annually by Health & Hospitals Networks (H&HN). The 2016 Most Wired survey and benchmarking study is a leading industry barometer measuring information technology use and adoption among hospitals nationwide. The survey of 680 participants, representing an estimated 2,146 hospitals — more than 34 percent of all hospitals in the U.S. — examines how organizations are leveraging IT to improve performance for value-based health care in the areas of infrastructure, business and administrative management; quality and safety; and clinical integration. 

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.