Texas Children’s has received the 2017 “Most Wired” designation for outstanding health care-based technology from Hospitals & Health Network Magazine – the flagship publication of the American Hospital Association.
The annual Most Wired survey polls hospitals and health systems nationwide regarding information technology (IT) initiatives in the areas of infrastructure, business and administrative management, clinical quality and safety, and clinical integration.
The 2017 survey of 698 participants represents 2,158 hospitals – almost 40 percent of all hospitals in the United States. Texas Children’s has earned Most Wired recognition in 2013, 2014, 2016 and 2017.
“Earning our fourth Most Wired designation reflects the hard work of the Information Services team and our many clinical and operational partners at Texas Children’s,” said Myra Davis, senior vice president of Information Services. “The survey results provide industry-standard benchmarks to measure IT adoption and meaningful use for operational, financial and clinical performance in health care delivery systems.”
Texas Children’s noted several IS achievements, including enhancements to patient safety, patient care and the patient experience. Notable accomplishments include:
Applying PPID safety standards to breast milk – IS partnered with Nursing, Pharmacy, Milk Bank, Dietary and Clinical Informatics & Training to extend PPID safety protocols to breast milk. Centers for Disease Control guidelines say feeding expressed breast milk to the wrong child should be treated as an accidental exposure to bodily fluids. The new PPID controls hold breast milk to the same safety standards as medications in order to reduce the possibility of an adverse event from a baby receiving expressed milk intended for another infant.
Automated patient meal ordering service – IS partnered with Morrison Healthcare to implement MyDining, an automated complex diet ordering interface within Epic. The system automates patient meal delivery to:
- Enhance patient safety in acute care settings by ensuring the right patient gets the right meal at the right time, based on physician diet orders for considerations like allergies, restrictions and supplement requirements.
- Boost patient satisfaction by tracking, reporting and improving the on-time meal delivery workflow.
The Nerve Center – IS partnered with Nursing, Physician and Transfer Center leadership to deliver technology to support the organization’s transfer of about 1300 patients a year in a way that demonstrates excellence and efficiency. The technology provides:
- Decreased time for the transfer team out the door
- Improved and clear documentation on patient transfers
- Most up-to-date information needed to make the best decisions on patients coming or leaving Texas Children’s Community provider satisfaction
New app to improve patient experience – IS introduced a new “Bedside” inpatient portal at The Woodlands campus to provide medical information, entertainment options, communication benefits and instructional videos using tablet devices. The goal of MyChart Bedside is to empower patients/parents to:
- Improve patient satisfaction
- Enhance quality and safety of care
- Increase MyChart usage
- Better meet compliance objectives
“In health care today, implementation and adoption of health care technology is crucial in advancing outcomes and experiences,” said Julie McGuire, director of Enterprise Systems for Information Services. “The Most Wired designation shows that Texas Children’s is leading not only in our clinical care outcomes but in the use of technology that drives improved outcomes and advancements in care.”
The 2017 Most Wired Survey is published by Health & Hospitals Network. Most Wired results are available here.