Five Florida hospitals, and three around Tampa Bay, have received the industry's highest award for managing the shift to a paperless environment.
The “Stage 7” designation is the highest level on the Electronic Medical Records Adoption Model developed by HIMSS Analytics. It measures how hospitals use information technology applications.
The five Florida hospitals that received the award are Tampa General Hospital, Florida Hospital North Pinellas, Florida Hospital Carrollwood, Florida Hospital Flagler and Nemours Children’s Hospital Orlando.
Tampa General will be recognized for its “data-focused culture” at the 2014 Annual HIMSS Conference & Exhibition in Orlando, according to a news release from HIMSS.
“We are proud of this designation because studies have shown that using an electronic medical record is linked to improved patient safety and care,” Scott Arnold, senior vice president and chief information officer for Tampa General, said in a news release.
Out of more than 5,400 U.S. hospitals that use the database, 2.2 percent reached the Stage 7 designation in the last quarter of this year.
--Health News Florida is part of WUSF Public Media. Contact Lottie Watts at 813-974-8705 (desk) or e-mail at lottiewatts@wusf.org. For more health news, visit HealthNewsFlorida.org.
