SOUTHBRIDGE, Mass. – October 3, 2011 – Harrington HealthCare System is ranked among the top healthcare systems in the country for Electronic Medical Record (EMR) adoption.
Harrington has achieved Stage 6 on the EMR Adoption ModelSM (EMRAM) – putting it among the top 4.4 percent of hospital systems nationwide (one of only 236 hospitals out of 5,310) to rise to this prestigious level. 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 AnalyticsTM Database.
The benefits of transferring Harringtons processes from paper to computer are tremendous. Not only does the electronic system increase patient safety but it also offers a more organized and efficient workflow for the hospital staff, said Harrington President and CEO Edward H. Moore. Stage 6 means Harrington is close to no longer using any paper charts to deliver and manage patient care. This dramatically increases the availability of patient information, as it can be accessed from anywhere in the hospital by multiple users at the same time.
“Congratulations to all our participants in Harringtons Electronic Medical Record initiatives, this is truly a remarkable achievement. Special thanks to our nurses, pharmacists, physicians and Medical Records Department, who successfully learned a new system after using paper entry for many years,” Moore said. “And congratulations, of course, to Chief Information Officer Hadley Zabinski and our Information Technology Team, who have worked very hard to implement these changes. They have been strategic drivers, as well as facilitators, of this process.”
Stage 6 hospitals have made significant executive commitments and investments to reach this esteemed stage, according to HIMSS Analytics. These hospitals have almost fully automated/paperless medical records and have begun to create strategic alignments with their medical staff to effectively utilize information technology to improve the patient safety environment.
“Harrington is an example of one of the many healthcare organizations throughout the country that was not plugged into technology,” stated Hadley Zabinski, CIO. “Five years ago the leadership and staff at this small community hospital started on a path to change their future. They have embraced technology and surpassed neighboring larger academic and for-profit healthcare organizations. Possibilities that were only a glimmer five years ago are now realized; we can trend physician ordering patterns, monitor nursing care, automatically warn of drug interactions, analyze bar code scanning compliance, trend patient results, view prescriptions from prior patient visits, and many other wonderful benefits.
“The participation and collaboration from the dedicated team of nurses, pharmacists, physicians, Medical Records Department and IT staff have facilitated total clinical and technological integration,” Zabinski said. “The medical staff is able to monitor and provide care for their patients at any time from virtually any location. Harrington HealthCare has truly embodied the motto Total Local Care through both the breadth of services offered to the community and the totally integrated and safe patient care further promoted by our electronic medical record. Harrington is a wonderful success story of electronic medical technology adoption, acceptance and appreciation in the 21st century.”
Achieving Stage 6 positions Harrington HealthCare to apply for some of the $83 billion in economic stimulus funding set aside by the federal government. Harrington will continue to apply funding it receives toward improving patient care.
Visit www.himssanalytics.org for more information.
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