PITTSBURGH – UPMC has been named for the 20th year as one of the nation’s “Most Wired” health systems by the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME).

The 254 winners, including six from outside the U.S., are based on an annual survey designed to identify and recognize health care organizations that exemplify best practices through their adoption, implementation and use of information technology (IT). 

“Winning this award for two decades is a testament to the 1,800 IT professionals at UPMC, who work every day to reliably and creatively serve the needs of our clinicians, patients, Health Plan members and staff,” said Ed McCallister, chief information officer of UPMC. “Thanks to the commitment of our top leadership and board, we have invested more than $2 billion over the past five years in technologies aimed at providing high-quality, cost-effective, personalized care.” 

CHIME took over the Most Wired program and revised the survey questions and methodology this year to highlight strengths and gaps in the industry. The goal is to identify best practices and promote the strategic use of information technology to elevate the health and care of communities around the world. The survey was conducted from March to May this year with a total of 638 participants representing 2,190 organizations. This is the first year that the survey included international participants. 

UPMC is regularly recognized for its pioneering use of information technology, from electronic medical records (EMRs) to biometrics, machine learning and natural language processing. More than a dozen UPMC hospitals, as well as UPMC outpatient facilities, are at the highest levels of EMR use, as measured by Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society Analytics.