A Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society subsidiary recognized Chicago-based Cook County Health and Hospitals System for its EMR initiatives.
CCHHS earned Stage 7 on the eight-stage HIMSS Analytics EMR Adoption Model, which measures the degree to which a hospital or health system uses its EMR functions. Six percent of U.S. hospitals have reached Stage 7, the highest designation.
CCHHS officials have worked to improve patient care using various EMR functions, including patient portals. For example, physicians leveraged the electronic message center within the health system's patient portal to monitor patient care without requiring multiple follow-up appointments.
This system proved particularly useful for low-income patients with chronic conditions. In the past, CCHHS required patients with chronic conditions to visit the hospital for blood work and again to discuss results. Today, these results can be released via patient portal, reducing a patient's time spent away from work.
"This recognition supports our embrace of health IT and demonstrates how Cook County Health leverages EMRs to improve clinical outcomes for an individual patient and also the health of our community through data," John Jay Shannon, MD, CEO of CCHHS, said in a May 22 statement.