HIMSS Analytics Honors Overlake Medical Center with Stage 6 Recognition

Bellevue, Wash. – HIMSS Analytics announced Overlake Medical Center has achieved Stage 6 in its electronic medical record (EMR) adoption efforts. Overlake Medical Center was the first Level III trauma center on the Eastside and is known for providing award-winning, high-quality, compassionate care.

Of the 5,400 U.S. hospitals tracked by HIMSS Analytics, only 19 percent have achieved Stage 6 status in the adoption of the electronic medical record. Using the HIMSS Analytics EMR adoption methodology, hospitals can track their progress in completing eight stages (0-7) toward creating an advanced electronic patient record environment.

Electronic medical records provide both care providers and patients a more efficient way of sharing information that can lead to higher-quality, more efficient care.

Stage 6 hospitals:

• Have made significant executive commitments and investments to reach this stage.
• Appear to have a significant advantage over competitors for patient safety, clinician support, clinician recruitment and competitive marketing for both consumers and nurse recruitment.
• Have almost fully automated/paperless medical records when they have implemented their IT applications across most of the inpatient care settings.
• Are either starting to evaluate their data for care delivery process improvements or have already documented significant improvements in this area.
• Have made investments that are within reach of most hospitals and recognize the strategic value of improving patient care with the EMR.
• Have begun to create strategic alignments with their medical staff to effectively utilize information technology to improve the patient safety environment.
• Are well positioned to provide data to key stakeholders, such as payers, the government, physicians, consumers and employers to support electronic health record environments and health information exchanges.

Stage 6 hospitals have also achieved a significant advancement in their IT capabilities that positions them to successfully address many of the current industry transformations, such as meaningful use criteria in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, claims attachments for the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, pay for performance and government quality reporting programs.

Overlake Medical Center started its EMR adoption efforts in 2013.

“Having a robust electronic medical record is an important investment for our patients and our providers,” said Overlake Vice President of Clinical Integration Richard Bryan. “Our efforts put forth to attain HIMSS Stage 6 position us to better partner with our patients, providers and other health systems as we all navigate an increasingly complex healthcare landscape. These efforts also demonstrate the dedication and hard work of our providers and staff, all of whom support our mission of providing medical excellence every day.”

“HIMSS Analytics congratulates Overlake Medical Center for leading the way toward health IT adoption,” said John Hoyt, FACHE, FHIMSS, Executive Vice President, HIMSS Analytics. “Stage 6 represents a level of sophistication that only 1,048 US hospitals have reached to date.”