February 8, 2016 - HIMSS Analytics awarded WellSpan Surgery and Rehabilitation Hospital with a Stage 7Award. The award represents WellSpan Surgery and Rehabilitation Hospital’s attainment of the highest level on the Electronic Medical Record Adoption Model℠ (EMRAM).

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 Analytics® Logic™ . There are eight stages (0-7) that measure a hospital’s implementation and utilization of information technology applications. The final stage, Stage 7, represents an advanced patient record environment. The validation process to confirm a hospital has reached Stage 7 includes a site visit by an executive from HIMSS Analytics and former or current chief information officers, chief medical information officers, or chief nursing informatics officers to ensure an unbiased evaluation of the Stage 7 environments.

WellSpan Surgery and Rehabilitation Hospital received its HIMSS Analytics site visit in December 2015 and was notified it had attained the Stage 7 Award.

During the third quarter of 2015, only 4.1 percent of the more than 5,400 U.S. hospitals in the HIMSS Analytics® Logic™ received the Stage 7 Award.

“WellSpan Surgery and Rehabilitation Hospital is an exceptional facility that was built around leveraging the electronic medical record, and it is deserving of the recognition it has achieved,” said R. Hal Baker, MD, senior vice president, clinical improvement and chief information officer, WellSpan Health. “We appreciate the reviewers' particular recognition of WellSpan’s exceptional integration of biomedical devices with the electronic medical record.”

WellSpan Health is an integrated health system that serves the communities of central Pennsylvania and northern Maryland. The organization is comprised of a multispecialty medical group of more than 850 physicians and advanced practice clinicians, a home care organization, six respected hospitals, more than 15,000 employees, and more than 140 patient care locations.

“A couple of themes that clearly stood out during our visit to WellSpan Health included strong operational and governance support of their overall EHR efforts and a commitment to clinical leadership in their IT strategy,” said John H. Daniels, CNM, FACHE, FHIMSS, CPHIMS, global vice president, healthcare advisory services group, HIMSS Analytics. “This approach was evident in the case studies they presented that showed significant benefits realization in improved outcomes and cost savings.”

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