Grady Health System has earned the HIMSS Analytics Stage 7 Award on the Electronic Medical Record Adoption Model (EMRAM) SM, becoming Georgia’s only adult acute care hospital to earn the highest rating for improving patient care and safety through health information technology.
Grady leverages an integrated EMR and many innovative technologies to provide high quality care. Through actionable analytics and guided pathways, Grady patients are benefitting. One example involves Grady’s infectious disease program. Grady implemented alerting for clinicians in the EMR and recommended ordering pathways to screen patients for HIV and link those patients to treatment. The result has been a 96% reduction in transmission of HIV, when the patient is in treatment. Grady has identified and linked hundreds of patients to treatment through this program.
“Grady implemented a Meds to Beds program focused on reducing 30-day readmissions and improving patient experience. In this program, when a physician places a discharge order, the pharmacist receives an automatic alert to visit the patient. The pharmacist then ensures the patient (or family member) has the medications needed before discharge, and they understand the instructions. Of the patients entered into the program, Grady is seeing an increase in revenue and decrease in 30-day readmissions,” said Philip W Bradley regional director, North America, healthcare advisory services, operations, HIMSS Analytics.
Stage 7 Award Overview
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. 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 officers to ensure an unbiased evaluation of the Stage 7 environments.
