UPMC Presbyterian Recognized for Advanced Use of Electronic Medical Record
HIMSS Adds Hospital to Elite U.S. Group With Comprehensive EMR
PITTSBURGH, December 18, 2008 — UPMC Presbyterian has been recognized by the leading health care technology industry organization for its advanced use of a comprehensive electronic medical record (EMR), achieving a technology and patient safety distinction earned by only 24 of more than 5,700 U.S. hospitals.
UPMC Presbyterian joins Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC as a “Stage 6” hospital, according to HIMSS Analytics, a wholly owned, not-for-profit subsidiary of the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS). HIMSS Analytics scores hospitals based on their progress in completing eight stages, from zero to seven, of a paperless patient record environment, and its studies have shown correlations between quality metrics and EMR adoption. No hospital has reached the highest level.
With deployment of computerized physician order entry (CPOE) in October, UPMC Presbyterian achieved Stage 6 functionality, which also includes computerized charting, a clinical data repository, decision support for clinicians, positive patient identification (PPID) and physician documentation. Systemwide, CPOE is deployed across nearly half of UPMC’s inpatient beds versus less than 2 percent nationally, and each of UPMC’s 20 hospitals uses some aspect of eRecord, as the system is called. At UPMC’s more than 400 outpatient settings, an estimated 60 percent of physicians have access to the ambulatory eRecord.
UPMC’s use of EMR technology, which dates back to the late 90’s, already has achieved significant patient safety and efficiency gains. With CPOE, for instance, UPMC St. Margaret showed a 77 percent reduction in missed medications, while medication turnaround times at UPMC Shadyside improved 52 percent. Prescriptions of more cost-effective generic drugs at physician practices with electronic-prescribing capabilities have climbed more than 20 percent.
“This honor underscores UPMC’s commitment to adopting electronic medical record technology that will ensure the safest and highest-quality environment for our patients and their caregivers,” said John Innocenti, president of UPMC Presbyterian, a renowned center for organ transplantation, cardiology and cardiothoracic surgery, neurosurgery, critical care medicine and trauma services. “This accomplishment would not have been possible without the involvement of our dedicated physicians and nurses, who offered their input and expertise at every step along the way to develop and improve this technology for the benefit of our patients.”
“Stage 6 hospitals are shining examples for our industry of what can be achieved with electronic medical record information technologies,” said Mike Davis, executive vice president of HIMSS Analytics. “These facilities demonstrate best practices for using electronic medical records to improve care delivery, clinical outcomes and patient safety. These organizations will be great mentors for other U.S. hospitals as we continue to drive the transformation of low-cost and high-quality care delivery.”
HIMSS Analytics collects data from more than 5,000 U.S. hospitals, as well as facilities in Canada, to provide an accurate and current view of EMR implementations. HIMSS is a health care organization exclusively focused on providing leadership for the optimal use of health care information technology and management systems for the betterment of health care.
About UPMC
UPMC is an integrated global health enterprise headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and one of the leading nonprofit health systems in the United States. As western Pennsylvania’s largest employer, with 50,000 employees and $7 billion in revenue, UPMC is transforming the economy of the region into one based on medicine, research and technology. By integrating 20 hospitals, 400 doctors’ offices and outpatient sites, long-term care facilities and a major health insurance services division, and in collaboration with its academic partner, the University of Pittsburgh Schools of the Health Sciences, UPMC has advanced the quality and efficiency of health care and developed internationally renowned programs in transplantation, cancer, neurosurgery, psychiatry, orthopaedics and sports medicine, among others. UPMC is commercializing its medical and technological expertise by nurturing new companies, developing strategic business relationships with some of the world’s leading multinational corporations and expanding into international markets, including Italy, Ireland, the United Kingdom and Qatar. For more information about UPMC, visit our website at www.upmc.com.
To learn more about information technology at UPMC, visit Information Technology at UPMC – UPMC, Pittsburgh, PA, USA