Hospitals in advanced stages of healthcare IT implementation are significantly more likely to set national benchmarks for performance than peer hospitals, according to a newly published report from HIMSS Analytics and Thomson Reuters.
In November 2011, researchers compared the winners of the 100 Top Hospital award by Thomson Reuters to HIMSS Analytics Electronic Medical Record Adoption Model (EMRAM) scores to determine if there was any relationship. Hospitals included in the sample received the Thomson Reuters award in either 2009 or 2010.
The researchers did find statistically significant relationships: The top 100 hospitals of 2009 and 2010 were more than twice as likely to be in EMRAM stages 5 through 7. (The EMRAM model has eight stages of adoption, from stage 0, the lowest, to stage 7.)
In 2009, for example, 14% of the top hospitals were in EMRAM stages 5 to 7, compared with 6% of all U.S. hospitals. In 2010, the percentages were 21% and 9%, respectively.
The report, titled "2012 HIMSS Analytics Report: Quality and Safety Linked to Advanced Information Technology Enabled Processes," can be accessed free of charge.
