July 12, 2010
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Health System has again been named to the 2010 "Healthcare's 100 Most Wired Hospitals and Health Systems," by Hospitals and Health Networks (HHN), the journal of the American Hospital Association.
This is the eight year the UAB Health System has been included in the "most wired" listing. HHN also named UAB to their "Most Wireless" list for the first time.
Hospitals are surveyed on their use of Internet technologies for safety and quality, customer service, disaster readiness, business processes and workforce issues. The "most wired" hospitals use computers to enable physicians to check or order patient tests and enter medication orders electronically, and to enable patients to perform billing functions via computer.
In comparing hospitals and health systems across the country, HHN found that the "Most Wired" also:
- Conduct more pre- and post-implementation evaluations of IT projects
- Maintain a larger proportion of their medical records in a paperless format
- Provide digital imaging to more clinical disciplines in a wider range of settings
- Employ a broader set of telemedicine services
- Deploy more IT educational resources for staff
"I am extremely pleased that UAB Health System again has been recognized by HHN as 'Most Wired,'" said Joan C. Hicks, UABHS chief information officer. "Achieving this recognition reflects our strong commitment to information technology as a strategic imperative. This accomplishment also demonstrates the huge work effort by the HSIS staff."
At UABHS, physicians perform a host of clinical functions online. They check laboratory and imaging results, review clinical notes from other health care providers for their patients and enter patient care notes and medication orders.
UAB provides health information directly to the public through its Health System website, www.uabmedicine.org, and the main UAB website, www.uab.edu. It also offers information for referring physicians via www.uabmedicine.org/web/medicalprofessionals.
About the UAB Health System
The UAB Health System includes all of the University of Alabama at Birmingham's patient care activities, including UAB Hospital, the Callahan Eye Foundation Hospital and The Kirklin Clinic. UAB is the state of Alabama's largest employer and an internationally renowned research university and academic health center whose professional schools and specialty patient care programs are consistently ranked as among the nation's top 50.