12 WVU Medicines Hospitals Achieved HIMSS EMRAM Stage 7

Twelve WVU Medicine hospitals and over 500 clinics were recently recognized with HIMSS (Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society)

Electronic Medical Record Adoption Model (EMRAM) Stage 7 awards.

EMRAM incorporates methodology and algorithms to score whole hospitals worldwide relative to their digital maturity. It offers a more detailed guide to ease EHR adoption and begin a digital transformation that results in positive outcomes, according to HIMSS.

Stage 7 status is the highest level a healthcare organization can achieve and WVU Medicine said it does not occur frequently. To reach such status, the HIMSS EMRAM eight-stage (zero to seven) model assesses clinical outcomes, patient engagement, and clinician use of EMR technology.

“HIMSS Stage 7 doesn’t just benchmark whether you have the capability, it benchmarks your actual utilization of the technology to improve safety,” Albert L Wright Jr, president, and CEO of WVU Health System, said in a public statement. “There are around 270 hospitals in the country that have reached a HIMSS Stage 7.” 

“When you look at what we’re doing as an organization compared to our peers, 12 out of 270 is a pretty high percentage for a health system with 17 member hospitals,” Wright continued. “Our leadership team is committed to making sure not only do we have the technology, but we’re utilizing it to make sure we’re taking great care of patients.”

Healthcare organizations use EMRAM to optimize digital work environments, improve performance and financial sustainability, build a sustainable workforce, and support an exceptional patient experience. 

The HIMSS Outpatient Electronic Medical Record Adoption Model (O-EMRAM) measures EHR implementation in hospital and health system outpatient facilities. More than 500 WVU Medicine outpatient clinics achieved Stage 7 O-EMRAM validation.

“This is a tremendous validation of our commitment to deploying EHR functionality that enables our care teams to provide the best care for our patients,” said David Rich, MD, chief medical information officer at WVU Medicine.

Leveraging digital information can improve patient safety and clinician satisfaction by reducing errors in care, length of stay for patients, and duplicated care orders, as well as by streamlining the access and use of data to inform care delivery.

Additionally, HIMSS EMRAM affects clinicians as well as patients. The model aims to streamline clinician workflow and ensure digital tools meet clinician needs.

A 2019 KLAS report showed that physicians in healthcare settings that have achieved Stage 7 on the HIMSS EMRAM model have greater levels of EHR use satisfaction.

EMRAM Stage 7 healthcare organizations that are utilizing full EHR functionality are more likely to report that their EHR system enables high-quality care, includes necessary functionality, and successfully integrates with outside organizations.