Community hospitals have made a clear commitment to patient safety, according to data from the 2007 Most Wired Survey and Benchmarking Study. Twenty-seven percent electronically match medication orders at the bedside, compared with 33 percent of Most Wired hospitals and 12 percent of least wired organizations. Community institutions also show initiative with medication reconciliation; 82 percent use an electronic system to develop a list of current medications and 74 percent provide a new list to caregivers and the patient. Efforts to electronically compare current and prescribed medications aren’t yielding the same level of success; 67 percent of community hospitals automate that function.
While the majority of doctors at community hospitals enjoy the convenience of medical image review and access to the electronic medical record from the hospital, physician offices and other remote locations, most community institutions do not provide physicians with access to computerized provider order entry. These hospitals’ physician portals save time by allowing 59 percent of doctors to complete and sign medical records. Expanding portal functions to include clinical decision support with medical references, as 37 percent of community hospitals and 83 percent of Most Wired hospitals have done, is an important next step in boosting quality of care.
An impressive 61 percent of community hospitals take advantage of electronic bed management in their emergency departments, compared with 89 percent of Most Wired hospitals and 32 percent of least wired organizations. By adopting inpatient bed management, community hospitals could extend the efficiency benefits beyond ED walls.
This article first appeared in the Spring issue of HHN's Most Wired Magazine.
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