Alegent Health has been named one of the nation's 'Most Wired' hospital and health systems. The fourth annual survey and benchmarking study is awarded to technically savvy hospitals by Hospitals & Health Networks, the journal of the American Hospital Association, in cooperation with McKesson Information Solutions, Qwest Communications International, and the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society. The survey and benchmarking study measures the nation's health care systems on their use of Internet technologies to connect with patients, physicians and nurses, payors, health plans and employees.
This is the first time Alegent Health has been named to the list. 'I'm proud
to say that Alegent Health's technology efforts make a real difference in the
lives of people,' said Ken Lawonn, Alegent Health vice president for information
technology. 'The tools we've put in place address the needs of doctors, nurses,
and, most importantly, patients. It's been very exciting work.'
Hospitals & Health Networks worked with two
leading firms-McKesson Information Solutions and Qwest Communications
International-to develop an in-depth eight-page survey available online to every
hospital in the United States. Results from the survey were used to name the 100
Most Wired. More than 300 health systems responded to the survey, representing
about 800 hospitals.
Independent analysis of this year's winners shows that Most Wired
organizations dedicate more staff and capital budget to IT projects than less
wired organizations. The Most Wired organizations are also succeeding at
communicating with patients by scheduling appointments and filling prescriptions
online. Alegent Health started filling prescriptions online more than a year
ago; internet scheduling began this year. Highlights of Alegent Health's use of
technology include:
AlegentMD.com, which provides physicians with secure, web-based access to patient clinical information, system and global news, and health and drug information
Alegent.com, the health system's general information website. It provides online appointment requests, prescription refill requests, e-newsletter subscriptions and reminders, health and news articles with audio and video, and the ability to submit an online request for participation in a clinical study or research trial.
TeamAlegent.com, an intranet site for Alegent Health
employees. Employees have access to surveys, patient care guidelines, policies
and procedures, benefits enrollment, communication tools, forms, education and
news.
Alegent Health relies on a combination of frame relay and high-speed
network links to connect the healthcare network's five thousand desktop
computers, two hundred servers, fifteen hundred printers, and mainframe. Through
Z.E.N works, Alegent Health provides central administration of all the computer
desktops geographically dispersed among over one hundred healthcare sites.
Large gaps between Most Wired and less wired organizations are evident
in services offered to doctors and nurses. In 2001, the gap for Web-based lab
order entry was 19.1 percentage points. In 2002, it jumped to 48.4 percentage
points.
'This year's survey shows that Most Wired organizations continue to commit employees and money to their info tech investments,' says Alden Solovy, executive editor of Hospitals & Health Networks.
'This is reflected in the large gaps in penetration of key technologies and the
large gaps in communicating with patients, doctors and nurses.'
Winners and further analysis can be found in the July Hospitals & Health Networks. (www.hhnmag.com) Information on connecting with suppliers can be found in Materials Management in Health Care (www.matmanmag.com),
July. The August, H&HN's Most Wired Magazine (www.hhnmostwired.com) feature story will focus on the Most Wireless winners and the September Health Forum Journal (www.healthforumjournal.com) will highlight the
Innovator Awards winners.
Hospitals & Health Networks, the journal of
the American Hospital Association, conducts the Most Wired survey annually.
McKesson Information Solutions serves the supply management and information
technology needs of health care organizations. Qwest Communications
International is a leader in reliable, scalable and secure broadband data, voice
and image communications for businesses and consumers. The Healthcare
Information and Management Systems Society provides leadership for the
management of technology, information and change
