Medical Center Named Among Most Wired Hospitals

The University of Illinois Medical Center at Chicago has been named among the top 100 "Most Wired Hospitals" for 2006 by Hospitals & Health Networks magazine.

The annual Most Wired Survey and Benchmarking Study appears in the July issue of the magazine. Hospitals & Health Networks conducted the survey in cooperation with Accenture, McKesson Corp. and the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives.

Hospitals are surveyed on their use of information technology to improve quality, customer service and patient care. They are recognized for using information technology to streamline business and clinical practices, reduce medical errors, and improve clinical outcomes.

"This distinction highlights the University of Illinois Medical Center's full dedication to using technology to improve the quality and efficiency of health care," said John DeNardo, chief executive officer of the UIC Healthcare System. "It is only through the complete collaboration of our physicians and staff that we are able to earn this recognition. To be acknowledged as a technology leader within the competitive Chicago area market is a significant achievement. We are honored by this award and will continue to deploy new systems and technologies that will improve patient care."

According to the survey:

-99 percent of the most wired hospitals provide digital radiology images in the hospital inpatient setting, compared with 72 percent of the least wired hospitals (defined as the 100 hospitals scoring lowest on the survey);

-92 percent of the medical records at most wired hospitals are available digitally, compared with 61 percent at least wired hospitals, and;

-36 percent of medications are ordered electronically by physicians in most wired hospitals, compared with 2 percent among least wired hospitals.

The medical center's electronic health records system, known as Gemini, allows caregivers to have instant, secure access to data, from demographic and insurance information to inpatient orders, medications charting, and personal and family medical history. Caregivers also enter lab, radiology and pathology reports, physician notes, and test results electronically.

Implemented in 1997, Gemini links the hospital, outpatient centers, satellite facilities, academic offices and laboratories to medical data on more than 2 million patients and is accessible from personal computers located throughout the institution and remotely via the Internet.

To improve drug distribution and patient safety, UIC has implemented state-of-the-art medication dispensing cabinets, drug packaging, and storage and retrieval systems that are linked to the electronic health record system.

The medication-use technology allows pharmacists to verify the physicians' electronic medication orders and provides nurses with secure access to medication dispensing cabinets located on the patient floors. At the medical center, 87 percent of medications are ordered electronically by physicians and 95 percent of medications are dispensed from medication dispensing cabinets.

UIC also employs information technology related to business processes, customer service, safety and quality, workforce and human resource issues, and public health and safety.

The medical center was also recognized as one of the top 25 "Most Wireless" organizations for the widespread deployment of wireless systems throughout the hospital.