Southampton, NY—Southampton Hospital has been recognized as one of the nation’s “Most Wired—Small and Rural” hospitals, according to the results of Health Forum’s 2012 Most Wired Survey released in the July issue of Hospitals & Health Networks magazine. Healthcare information is a Board-level priority and a critical part of Southampton Hospital’s strategic plan to build a more robust healthcare system for its communities that will enable the Hospital to integrate existing physician offices, testing and treatment facilities. Robert S. Chaloner, Southampton President and CEO, comments, “Under the direction of William Bifulco, the Hospital’s Vice President of Physician Development and CIO, we are methodically building a paperless care environment that relies on digital information for all of our care records. We want to create seamless access to vital patient information and link our entire organization to provide improved care and patient access to services in the most effective care setting.”
Health Forum’s Most Wired Survey was conducted January 15-March 15 in cooperation with McKesson Corporation, The College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME), and the American Hospital Association (AHA). The survey asked hospitals and health systems nationwide to answer questions regarding their IT initiatives. Respondents completed 662 surveys, representing 1,570 hospitals, or roughly 27% of all US hospitals. The nation’s Most Wired hospitals are leveraging the adoption and use of health information technology (IT) to improve performance in a number of areas, according to the survey. As a field, hospitals are focused on expanding and adopting IT that protects patient data, and optimizes patient flow and communications. As a Most Wired hospital, Southampton employs intrusion detection systems to protect patient privacy and security of patient data, and to check drug interactions and drug allergies when medications are ordered, as a major step in reducing medication errors.
Comments Rich Umbdenstock, president and CEO of the AHA, “As shown by these results, hospitals continue to demonstrate how IT not only can be used to improve patient care and safety but it is also a means to improve efficiency.” “Equipping caregivers with the information needed to drive quality, safety and efficiency will continue to be an imperative as the challenges facing health systems grow increasingly complex,” says Pat Blake, President, McKesson Technology Solutions.
