HIMSS Analytics, an arm of the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS), has recognized Ochsner Medical Center – North Shore in Slidell, La, with a Stage 7 award through its EMR Adoption Model. The program, adopted in 2005, provides a methodology for evaluating the progress and impact of electronic health records in the HIMSS Analytics database.

Of eight stages (0-7) measuring a hospital’s progress implementing and utilizing information technology applications, Stage 7 represents the most advanced patient record environment. During the third quarter of 2014, only 3.4% of the more than 5,400 U.S. hospitals in the HIMSS Analytics database received the Stage 7 Award. The Ochsner Health System is the only hospital to earn this designation across Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas, and Tennessee.

“Receiving the HIMSS Stage 7 Designation is an incredible accomplishment and one that showcases our dedication to creating a seamless patient experience here at Ochsner,” said Michael Hulefeld, executive vice president and chief operating officer, Ochsner Health System. “This recognition speaks directly to three core components of our mission: to lead, educate, and innovate. Through the hard work and dedication of our team, we have reached a level of data continuity and accessibility that continues to transform the healthcare industry.”

The Ochsner Health System is southeast Louisiana’s largest nonprofit, academic, multi-specialty healthcare delivery system, and includes 13 owned, managed, and affiliated hospitals, as well as 40 health centers.

“The Ochsner Health System is about as innovative as they come. For example, they launched an eICU that monitors North Shore ICU patients from a command center staffed by nurses and a critical care physician that has allowed them, among other things, to proactively eliminate catheter-associated urinary tract infections,” said John Daniels, vice president of strategic relations for HIMSS. “They also implemented an advanced telestroke program that extends care to rural areas where these services do not exist, and are in the preliminary phase of telepsychaitry also aimed at significantly improving patient outcomes. This health system is making a real difference in their community.”

For more information, visit HIMSS Analytics.