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Chicago hospital climbs to Stage 7

'We were very impressed at the depth and breadth of the EMR usage'
By Bernie Monegain

Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center in Chicago has reached Stage 7, the highest level on the HIMSS Analytics Electronic Medical Record Adoption Model, which is used to track EMR progress at hospitals and health systems.

The hospital will be recognized at the 2014 Annual HIMSS Conference & Exhibition, Feb. 24-26, 2014, in Orlando, Fla.
 
At the beginning of the second fiscal quarter of 2013, just 2.1 percent, of the more than 5,400 U.S. hospitals in the HIMSS Analytics Database, have attained the Stage 7 Award.

[See also: Bon Secours physicians achieve Stage 7.] 

"Electronic medical records may just be a tool, but it’s the care that Illinois Masonic physicians and staff provide with that tool that sets us apart," Susan Nordstrom Lopez, president of Advocate Illinois Masonic, said in a news release. "We’re proud to be recognized with the HIMSS Stage 7 Award for EMR implementation and utilization, as we continually focus on initiatives aimed to improve the technology we use, the quality of our care and the safety of our patients."

Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center is a 408-bed hospital with a Level I trauma center and a Level III neonatal intensive care unit, the highest designations awarded by the State of Illinois. It offers comprehensive inpatient services, including medical, surgical, obstetrics and pediatric care, as well as a full breadth of outpatient services.

"Advocate Health Care has invested in the appropriate EMR and data analytics tools and is using them in a world-class manner to position themselves to succeed as the largest accountable care organization in the country," John P. Hoyt, executive vice president, HIMSS Analytics, said in a statement. "We were very impressed at the depth and breadth of the EMR usage. Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, one of the hospitals within the Advocate Health Care system, surpassed all of the HIMSS Analytics key utilization targets. The hospital’s culture is truly a data-driven, quality improvement culture with goals and key results posted on all units and departments. We are pleased to see Advocate Illinois Masonic earn the HIMSS Analytics acute care Stage 7 level."

HIMSS Analytics developed the EMR Adoption Model in 2005 as a methodology for evaluating the progress and impact of electronic medical record systems for hospitals in the HIMSS Analytics Database. There are eight stages (0-7) that measure a hospital’s implementation and utilization of information technology applications. The final stage, Stage 7, represents an advanced patient record environment.

[See also: Legacy Health achieves Stage 7.]

The validation process to confirm a hospital has reached Stage 7 includes a site visit by an executive from HIMSS Analytics and former or current chief information officer and a current or former chief medical information officer to ensure an unbiased evaluation of the Stage 7 environments.