Nemours Tops In The Nation For Health Information Technology
NemoursOne, an Electronic Health Record system, wins 2010 HIMSS Davies Organizational Award of Excellence
Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) announced that Nemours, a premiere healthcare system for children operating in Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Florida, is a 2010 recipient of its prestigious HIMSS Davies Organizational Award of Excellence. The award is presented to health care systems and facilities that effectively use health information technology, such as electronic health records, to improve the safety and quality of patient care. Sentara Healthcare of Virginia is also a winner this year.
"For ten years, we have been creating a new level of quality patient care with NemoursOne," said Gina Altieri, Nemours Vice President for Corporate Services. "Receiving this award is a tribute to our physicians and staff who are using the electronic health record each and every day to improve care for our patients."
All Nemours clinics and the Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children are linked to NemoursOne across four states. Nemours Children's Hospital in Central Florida will be online when it opens in 2012. NemoursOne, in combination with its data warehouse, has developed a streamlined medication reconciliation process, a challenge nationwide, with an outpatient system-wide rate currently at 88 percent.
"Our first commitment is to the care and safety of our patients," remarked Dr. David E. Milov, Chief Medical Information Officer, Nemours. "Without the engagement of our physicians, the commitment of our entire organization and the investment we made in creating a strong foundation, this achievement would not have been possible and our patients would not have reaped the benefits of safe, quality care. This is great validation of the work Nemours does for our patients."
"The Davies Organizational Award recognizes excellence in the methods for implementation and the value derived from the use of an EHR (electronic health records). The Davies program objectives include promoting the use of EHRs, understanding the value of EHRs and raising visibility of EHRs through sharing successful implementations," says Tom Smith, Chair HIMSS Organizational Davies Award Committee. Smith is also Chief Information Officer, NorthShore University HealthSystem in Evanston, IL, a 2004 Davies Award winner. "In addition, to helping other organizations by documenting best practices, organizations that apply for Davies Awards have a powerful tool for recognizing the effort that the staff of their organization expends to implement and support an EHR."
About Nemours
Nemours, one of the nation's leading pediatric health systems, is dedicated to achieving higher standards in children's health by offering a spectrum of clinical treatment, research, advocacy, and educational health and prevention services extending to all families in the communities it serves. Nemours owns and operates the Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, Delaware and major children's specialty clinics in Delaware, Florida, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Nemours will establish a new full-service children's hospital in Orlando in 2012. KidsHealth.org, the world's most visited pediatric health care Web site for parents, kids and teens, is a project of Nemours. Nemours employs over 4,100 individuals, including 430 pediatric physicians, specialists and surgeons who cared for almost a quarter of a million children in 2009. For more information, visit www.nemours.org.
About HIMSS Davies Award of Excellence
The HIMSS Nicholas E. Davies Award of Excellence recognizes excellence in the implementation and use of health information technology, specifically electronic health records (EHRs), for healthcare organizations, private practices, public health systems, and community health organizations. Created by CPRI-HOST in 1994, the first three recipients of the Davies Organizational Award were recognized in 1995. In 2002, CPRI-HOST merged with the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS), and now, HIMSS manages the award program. The Award honors Dr. Nicholas E. Davies, an Atlanta-based practicing physician, president-elect of the American College of Physicians, and a member of the Institute of Medicine Committee on Improving the Patient Record, who died in 1991 in a plane crash.
SOURCE: Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society