(August 8, 2012) Sellersville, PA - Grand View Hospital has secured a spot among America’s “Most Wired” hospitals for a second consecutive year. The determination is based on a survey about information technology (IT) initiatives of hospitals and health systems nationwide, announced in the July issue of Hospitals & Health Networks (H&HN) magazine. The survey found that the nation’s Most Wired hospitals are adopting and using health IT to improve performance in a number of areas. This includes improvements in patient safety, patient privacy and data protection, and patient flow and communication.    “While getting named Most Wired is an honor, it wasn’t our goal, “Grand View’s chief information officer Jane Loveless said. “We began building an infrastructure for health information technology that would help us improve delivery of health care more than 10 years ago. We ended up achieving meaningful use requirements for electronic health records (EHR).

Grand View Hospital, Sellersville, PA

Getting an early start placed Grand View well ahead of other hospitals in the health IT area.” By the time President Obama signed into law the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) in 2009 with meaningful use requirements for EHR, Grand View had already made significant progress in converting from paper medical records to electronic ones. Grand View received over $2.4 million in federal and state incentive payments for meeting meaningful use requirements under ARRA.

“Our effective use of health IT is helping drive better patient outcomes and coordinated care, while reducing costs and improving efficiencies,” Loveless said. “We’re using advanced technology in all aspects of patient care, including at the hospital as well as in our outpatient centers and physician practices.” Some of those technologies include electronic medical records, computerized physician order entry, physician e-prescribing, and automated systems for pharmacy, medical device tracking, and equipment and medical supply purchasing.

Among the key survey findings H&HN magazine reported this year are:

• 93 percent of Most Wired hospitals employ intrusion detection systems to protect patient privacy and security of patient data, in comparison to 77 percent of the total responders.
• 74 percent of Most Wired hospitals and 57 percent of all surveyed hospitals use automated patient flow systems.
• 90 percent of Most Wired hospitals and 73 percent of all surveyed use performance improvement scorecards to help reduce inefficiencies.
• All Most Wired hospitals check drug interactions and drug allergies when medications are ordered as a major step in reducing medication errors.

A statement by American Hospital Association president and CEO, Rich Umbdenstock, echoes Grand View’s findings, “As shown by these survey 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.”

Health Care’s Most Wired Survey, conducted between January 15 and March 15, asked hospitals and health systems nationwide to answer questions regarding their IT initiatives. Respondents completed 662 surveys, representing 1,570 hospitals, or roughly 27 percent of all U.S. hospitals. The July H&HN cover story detailing results is available at www.hhnmag.com.

Grand View Hospital, Bucks County’s first hospital, has provided residents of Bucks and Montgomery Counties with comprehensive health care services since 1913. Grand View offers a range of care – particularly emphasizing the areas of cancer treatment, women's and children's health, surgery, orthopaedics, and heart and vascular care. Visit www.gvh.org for more information about the hospital, its programs, and services.