Hospitals & Health Networks, the journal of the American Hospital Association (AHA), has recognized CentraState Medical Center as one of the nation’s Most Wired health care organizations for the fifth year in a row, according to the results of the magazine’s annual survey. CentraState is one of the top 5 percent of health care organizations in the country to be named “Most Wired.”The designation recognizes healthcare organizations that have successfully adopted information technology (IT) in four critical areas: infrastructure; business and administrative management; clinical quality and safety; and care continuum.
CentraState has invested nearly $20 million in health IT over the past 14 years as part of its ongoing commitment to enhance patient safety and create more efficient care processes. CentraState’s participation in the Most Wired process was a significant factor in being one of the first hospitals in the country to be recognized as a Meaningful User of Technology by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) last year.
Health IT initiatives implemented at CentraState include Soarian, by the Siemens Corporation, the hospital’s primary clinical inpatient documentation system. Soarian allows physicians and other clinicians to immediately access electronic health records, patient test results, and other medical information in real time. Other initiatives include computerized physician order entry, electronic medical records, medication bar-coding and medication reconciliation. The Most Wired Survey and Benchmarking Study, conducted annually, is a joint project of the American Hospital Association, Hospital & Health Networks, McKesson Corporation and the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives.
CentraState Healthcare System is a nonprofit community health organization consisting of an acute-care hospital, a health and wellness campus, three senior living communities, a Family Medicine Residency Program, and a charitable foundation. CentraState’s teaching program is sponsored by Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.
The AHA is the largest not-for-profit association of health care provider organizations and individuals that are committed to the improvement of health in their communities.The AHA is the national advocate for its members, which includes more than 5,000 member hospitals, health systems and other health care organizations, and 38,000 individual members.
Hospital & Health Networks, the journal of the AHA, conducts the voluntary Most Wired Survey annually which uses the results to name Most Wired hospitals and health systems. It is based on organizations’ level of achievement in four focus areas: Business and Administrative Management, Clinical Quality and Safety, Care Continuum and Infrastructure.