PITTSBURGH – UPMC has been named one of the nation’s “Most Wired” health systems by the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) for the 21st year in a row. 

The Most Wired program uses positive change in the health care information technology (IT) industry to improve patient safety and outcomes. A total of 16,168 organizations completed surveys to assess the adoption, integration and impact of technologies in health care at all stages of development. 

In the domestic category, UPMC’s survey results scored in the 94th percentile, earning a certified level 9, with 10 possible levels. UPMC and the other organizations in this category have not only implemented advanced technologies, such as telemedicine, access to data at the bedside and cost analysis tools, but they leveraged those technologies in innovative ways across the entire organization, resulting in improved care, patient experience and access to services, along with reduced costs.

In the newly established ambulatory category, UPMC scored in the 73rd percentile, earning a certified level 8 of 10 possible levels. This certification level indicates that UPMC has deployed technologies and strategies, such as patient portals, population health analytics and cost assessments, to use data to achieve meaningful clinical and efficiency outcomes for outpatient care. 

“For more than two decades, UPMC has remained committed to investing in our IT infrastructure and maximizing technology to achieve our systemwide goals,” said Ed McCallister, UPMC’s chief information officer. “We are honored to receive this recognition, and we share it with the dedicated IT team that works to provide the highest quality technical support for our clinicians and staff, making it possible for them to deliver world-class health care to patients and UPMC Health Plan members each day.”

In recognition of its Most Wired achievements, UPMC will receive a Performance Excellence Award in the domestic category and a Quality Award in the ambulatory category at the upcoming CHIME19 Fall CIO Forum.

Over the last six years, UPMC has invested more than $2 billion in technologies across the health system. Regularly recognized for leading the health care IT field, more than a dozen UPMC hospitals, as well as UPMC outpatient facilities, are at the highest levels of electronic medical record use, as measured by Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society analytics. UPMC also is pioneering advancements in biometrics, machine learning and natural language processing.