HIMSS Analytics Honors Carolina Health System With Stage 7 Ambulatory Award

The HIMSS Stage 7 Ambulatory Awards honors facilities operating in a paperless environment and representing best practices in implementing EHR.

Developed in 2011, the EMR Ambulatory Adoption Model provides a methodology for evaluating the progress and impact of electronic medical record systems for ambulatory facilities owned by hospitals in the HIMSS Analytics Database. Stage 7 represents the highest level of EHR adoption and indicates a health system’s advanced electronic patient record environment.

As of the fourth quarter of 2014, only 6.21 percent of the more than 30,000 U.S. ambulatory clinics in the HIMSS Analytics Database received the Stage 7 Ambulatory Award.

“As the first healthcare system to achieve Stage 7 for both hospitals and physician offices in North and South Carolina, its shows our commitment and dedication to our patients to provide access to quality health and care,” said Craig Richardville, FACHE, MBA, senior vice president and chief information officer. “Using electronic medical records to its fullest potential connects our clinical providers and our patients across all points of health and care. That means our patients experience a seamless integrated system of care from their work or home, to their physicians’ offices, to the emergency department, to the hospital, at all points of care. Most importantly, our EHR engages our patients to become full partners with their providers to live healthier lives.”

Carolinas HealthCare System (carolinashealthcare.org), provides a full spectrum of healthcare and wellness programs throughout North and South Carolina. Its diverse network of care locations includes academic medical centers, hospitals, freestanding emergency departments, physician practices, surgical and rehabilitation centers, home health agencies, nursing homes and behavioral health centers, as well as hospice and palliative care services. Carolinas HealthCare System works to enhance the overall health and well-being of its communities through high quality patient care, education and research programs, and numerous collaborative partnerships and initiatives.

“Carolinas HealthCare System is clearly one of the country's leaders in use of data derived from their ambulatory EHR to drive improvements in chronic disease management. They have abundant evidence that disease states are improving in their patient population, all made possible by the strong foundation of data derived from their wide reaching ambulatory EHR,” said John P. Hoyt, FACHE, FHIMSS, executive vice president, HIMSS Analytics.

Carolinas Health System will be recognized at the 2015 Annual HIMSS Conference & Exhibition on April 12-16, 2015, in Chicago, Ill.

Visit the HIMSS Analytics web site(http://www.himssanalytics.org/home/index.aspx) for more information on the Stage 7 award and Stage 7 Ambulatory Award.

About HIMSS Analytics
HIMSS Analytics collects, analyzes and distributes essential health IT data related to products, costs, metrics, trends and purchase decisions.  It delivers quality data and analytical expertise to healthcare delivery organizations, IT companies, governmental entities, financial, pharmaceutical and consulting companies. For more information, visit www.himssanalytics.org.

HIMSS Analytics is a part of HIMSS, a cause-based, global enterprise that produces health IT thought leadership, education, events, market research and media services around the world. Founded in 1961, HIMSS encompasses more than 52,000 individuals, of which more than two-thirds work in healthcare provider, governmental and not-for-profit organizations across the globe, plus over 600 corporations and 250 not-for-profit partner organizations, that share the cause of transforming health and healthcare through the best use of IT. HIMSS, headquartered in Chicago, serves the global health IT community with additional offices in the United States, Europe, and Asia.