MUMC in Savannah Named 'Most Wired' for 11th Year

Online, July 20, 2010 (Newswire.com) - Memorial University Medical Center (MUMC) in Savannah, Georgia, has been named one of the nation's Most Wired hospitals for the 11th consecutive year. The results were announced in the July 2010 Most Wired Survey and Benchmarking Study by Hospitals & Health Networks magazine, the journal of the American Hospital Association. The annual survey examined 1,280 of the nation's hospitals on their use of Internet technologies in four focus areas: business and administrative management, clinical quality and safety, care continuum (ambulatory/physician/community), and infrastructure. Memorial is one of only four hospitals in Georgia to receive the Most Wired designation this year.
"At MUMC, we pride ourselves in providing world-class care in a manner that's efficient, cost effective, and safe. The use of technology by our innovative, forward-thinking team in one way to give our patients this high level of care," said Patty Lavely, senior vice president and chief information officer at MUMC.
Most Wired hospitals show better outcomes in patient satisfaction, risk-adjusted mortality rates, and other key quality measures through the use of information technology (I.T.).
"The survey results highlight that continued progress is being made but the full potential of health I.T. has not been meet," says Rich Umbdenstock, president and CEO of the American Hospital Association (AHA). "Hospitals embrace health IT and recognize the many benefits it can provide to patients, but even Most Wired hospitals face barriers to adoption. We have asked that the federal government stimulate greater adoption by making Medicare and Medicaid incentive payments more widely available to hospitals and physicians so more hospitals can move in this direction."
The entire report is available at www.hhnmag.com.
Memorial University Medical Center (MUMC) is a two-state healthcare organization serving a 35-county area in southeast Georgia and southern South Carolina. The system includes its flagship hospital, a 530-bed academic medical center; Memorial primary and specialty care physician networks; a major medical education program; business and industry services; and NurseOne, a 24-hour call center. Visit our Web site at www.memorialhealth.com.