OAKLAND, Calif. — Kaiser Permanente’s California hospitals were named today among the nation’s Most Wired based on results from Hospitals & Health Networks magazine’s Health Care’s Most Wired 2013 Survey.

“Being named among the nation’s Most Wired hospitals reinforces our commitment to high-quality care enabled by innovative technology, “said Phil Fasano, executive vice president and chief information officer, Kaiser Permanente. “This recognition is unique because it highlights all of the other ways in which we use technology to support the efficiency and effectiveness of our organization.”

Most Wired hospitals lead the way in technology integration at all levels, including infrastructure, business and administration applications, clinical quality and safety, and care continuum. More than 659 surveys were submitted this year, representing 1,713 hospitals, or roughly 30 percent of all hospitals in the United States.

“As a result of our cutting-edge technology and the excellence of our physicians and staff, we have been able to reduce the chances of our patients dying from heart disease, stroke and systemic infection compared to the rest of health care,” said Robert Pearl, MD, executive director and CEO, The Permanente Medical Group. “Having the right information immediately available allows doctors to achieve superior outcomes and provide personalized service.”

This year marks the 15th anniversary of the Health Care’s Most Wired Survey. In that time, hospitals and health care systems have made great strides in establishing robust clinical information systems aimed at improving patient care. This includes adopting technologies to improve patient documentation, advance clinical decision support and evidence-based protocols, reduce the likelihood of medication errors, and rapidly restore access to data in the event of a disaster or outage.

“This year’s Most Wired organizations exemplify progress through innovation,” said Rich Umbdenstock, president and CEO, American Hospital Association. “The hospital field can learn from these outstanding organizations ways that IT can help to improve efficiency.”

Kaiser Permanente is widely recognized for its leadership in harnessing health IT to improve quality and care delivery. Kaiser Permanente HealthConnect®, the health care organization’s electronic health record, is one of the most robust and sophisticated in the nation. It securely connects more than 9.1 million people to their health care teams and their personal health information — taking advantage of Kaiser Permanente’s integrated approach to health care.

Bar-code scanning helps ensure patient safety and quality care.

KP HealthConnect gives providers the tools needed to improve the quality of the care and service delivered to members. It helps ensure patient safety and quality care by providing access to comprehensive patient information and the latest best practice research in one place.

Among the survey’s key findings this year:

• About 69 percent of Most Wired hospitals and 60 percent of all surveyed hospitals report that physicians are entering medication orders electronically. This represents a significant increase from 2004 results when only 27 percent of Most Wired hospitals and 12 percent of all hospitals responded, “Yes.”
• 61 percent of Most Wired hospitals have an electronic disease registry to identify and manage gaps in care across a population compared with 51 percent of total responders.
• 66 percent of Most Wired hospitals share patient discharge data with affiliated hospitals, in comparison to 49 percent of the total responders. Thirty-seven percent of Most Wired hospitals do so with non-affiliated hospitals versus 24 percent of total responders.
• 41 percent of Most Wired hospitals provide a patient portal or Web-based solution for patient-generated data.

Kaiser Permanente’s patient portal, My Health Manager on kp.org, is directly connected to KP HealthConnect. By providing members with 24/7 online access to their health information and critical, time-saving tools, including online appointment scheduling, prescription refill and secure email messaging with doctors, Kaiser Permanente empowers members to manage their health care and the health care of their family members.

More than 4.2 million members are registered for My Health Manger on kp.org. In 2012 alone members:

• Sent 13.3 million emails to providers
• Viewed 32.3 million test results online
• Refilled 11.8 million prescriptions online
• Scheduled 3.1 million appointments online

Kaiser Permanente members can access these same features through the convenience of their mobile phones. Since its launch in 2012, Kaiser Permanente’s flagship app has been downloaded nearly 600,000 times to iPhone and Android devices.

Kaiser Permanente leads the nation in Stage 7 Awards from the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society and received the annual HIMSS Organizational Davies Award in 2011. The Stage 7 Award honors hospitals that have achieved the highest level of electronic health record implementation. Kaiser Permanente has received 36 awards over the past three years in recognition of its health information technology expertise. The annual HIMSS Organizational Davies Award recognizes excellence in the implementation of and value derived from health information technology.