Providence Portland Recognized as Oregon Leader for Electronic Medical Records

May 4, 2009

PORTLAND, Ore. — For patients, an electronic medical record means their health history is just a click away. For physicians, it means more time spent with their patients. And for Providence Portland Medical Center, it provides greater ability to track and report on quality measures.

Now HIMSS Analytics, an organization that maintains data on the use of electronic medical records – or EMR – at hospitals and health systems across the country, has recognized Providence Portland as being the best in Oregon and in the top one percent in the country for EMR adoption.

“This is a team effort," says Dick Taylor, M.D, the chief medical information officer for Providence in Oregon. “EMR adoption at this level is only possible with strong executive leadership, active physician and nurse engagement, clinical support from all disciplines, and a strong, competent, and involved information services team. The evidence is becoming clear that EMR adoption is associated with better outcomes for our patients, and getting to this level is a credit to everyone involved.”

In HIMSS’ seven-stage model, Providence Portland is the only hospital in Oregon to reach HIMSS Analytics EMR adoption stage six. This recognizes that the hospital has deployed proven approaches for increased patient safety and improved quality, including computerized provider order entry, bar-coded medication verification, electronic physician documentation, and is working to eliminate paper-based processes across the institution. A paperless patient record means that critical patient information can be accessed by all care providers from the physician’s office to Emergency and by specialist physicians. Computerized orders help eliminate errors, as the provider enters information directly into the system without the possibility of misreading. It also provides decision support, alerts, and reminders to the provider at the time of ordering, and supports standardized order sets to reduce variability.

HIMSS Analytics collects health care information technology data from more than 5,100 hospitals nationwide on their use and integration of electronic medical records. It provides comprehensive health care data that supports improved decision-making for hospitals, health care providers, health care information technology companies, pharmaceutical companies, and government agencies. The EMR Adoption Model score enables health systems and hospitals to compare their adoption of EMR tools – the higher the stage, the greater the adoption.