Christiana Care Health System has again been selected as one of the Most Wired Hospitals in the United States by the American Hospital Association.
Christiana Care was one of about 425 health systems selected as a 2017 Most Wired Hospital, based on results of the recent 19th Annual Health Care’s Most Wired Survey. There are more than 5,000 hospitals in the United States.
“Technological innovation helps us orient ourselves toward providing value-based care,” said Chief Information Officer Randall Gaboriault, senior vice president of Innovation and Strategic Development. “We’re investing in the resources to engage our patients in their care by giving them the ability to take ownership over their health records and communicate with providers on their own terms.”
The survey spans nearly every facet of health care technology — including continuous improvement, data analysis, patient access to providers and, new in 2017, data restoration after a disaster. Christiana Care was also selected as a Most Wired hospital system in 2016.
Initiatives include:
- Real-time data integration: The Christiana Care Value Institute created an algorithm to predict hospital patients at risk of a medical emergency. Using patient data, including vital signs and nursing documentation, the warning — called the Christiana Care Early Warning Score — can pick up on the subtle signs of clinical deterioration, potentially saving lives.
- Reducing unnecessary variation in care: Christiana Care’s service lines work with IT professionals to tap patients’ electronic health records to guide them toward optimal care. This allows Christiana Care’s clinical pathways to be tailored at the individual patient level.
- Cybersecurity: Christiana Care uses a tool that sends out phishing look-alike emails to employees to help keep them vigilant against digital intrusion. Employees who mistakenly click on these links are led to information about how to spot fraudulent emails designed to lure employees to divulge sensitive information.
- Curbing service duplication: Easily accessible patient records allow physicians, including in the emergency department, to avoid duplication of care. Christiana Care’s patient health records are linked with the Delaware Health Information Network, allowing physicians to seamlessly access information about a patient’s medical history across multiple providers.
HealthCare’s Most Wired survey, conducted between Jan. 15 and March 15 of this year, is published annually by Health & Hospitals Networks, a leading healthcare publication that chronicles the values and ideas that drive the new era in healthcare.