Maine Medical Center Named Most Wired Hospital

July 12, 2006 - Maine Medical Center has been named one of the nation's "Most Wired Hospitals" according to the 2006 Most Wired Survey and Benchmarking Study released in the July issue of Hospitals & Health Networks magazine. The award recognizes the breadth of MMC's use of information technology in support of clinical and business processes, customer service, safety and quality, workforce, and public health and safety.

This year's Most Wired applicants were comprised of over 1,200 hospitals throughout the United States. Maine Medical Center is the only hospital in Maine to achieve this award, and one of only six hospitals in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont. MMC is also the first hospital in Maine to receive this recognition. The honor is awarded by judges who are drawn from the members of the American Hospital Association and the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives.

MMC was also named one of the "Most Wireless Hospitals" for its use of wireless technology in support of patient care. This award is only given to 25 hospitals in the United States.

"I am new to this organization, and these awards only confirm what I have seen: MMC combines competence and dedication in its Information Services workforce with visionary leadership and, most unusually, ongoing willingness of all of our users to work together to create the best possible "system" for our patients and staff," says Stephen Rosenfeld, MD, MBA,
MMC's Chief Information Officer. "The work we've done to achieve Most Wired status is a
culmination of the dedicated work from employees in multiple departments, not just Information Services."

The nation's 100 Most Wired hospitals and health systems are helping consumers take charge of their health care by providing more tools via the Internet, according to results from the Most Wired survey. Among the findings:

• 64 percent of Most Wired hospitals provide online health coaching for obesity, smoking and chronic conditions;
• 49 percent of Most Wired hospitals allow patients to pre-register services from scheduling tests to on-line;
• 32 percent of Most Wired hospitals allow patients to check test results online; and
• 22 percent of hospitals provide patients the opportunity to visit a physician virtually.

The nation's 100 Most Wired are also using information technology to improve quality, satisfaction and patient care by investing in technology to streamline business and clinical practices; to reduce medical errors; and to improve clinical outcomes, as follows:

• 99 percent of the Most Wired hospitals provide digital radiology images in the hospital inpatient setting, compared with 72 percent of the Least Wired hospitals (defined as the 100 hospitals scoring lowest on the survey);
• 92 percent of the medical records at Most Wired hospitals are available digitally, compared with 61 percent at Least Wired hospitals; and
• 36 percent of medications are ordered electronically by physicians in Most Wired hospitals, compared with 2 percent among Least Wired hospitals.

The Most Wired Survey is conducted annually by Hospitals & Health Networks magazine, which uses the results to name the 100 Most Wired hospitals and health systems. It focuses on how the nation's hospitals use of information technologies for quality, customer service, public health and safety, business processes and workforce issues. More information on the award is available at: www.hhnmag.com.