Texas Children’s has earned the 2020 CHIME Digital Health Most Wired recognition for achieving Level 8 acute designation from The College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME). The CHIME conducts an annual survey to assess how effectively healthcare organizations apply core and advanced technologies into their clinical and business programs to improve health and patient care.
“This designation is a tribute to the hard work of our Information Services team and clinical and operational partners at Texas Children’s,” said Myra Davis, senior vice president of Information Services. “We use this survey as a benchmark to measure our progress against our peers in the implementation of information technology and to ensure we are making the right technology investments to guide our strategy for improving patient care and safety, especially as we face new challenges during COVID-19.”
As a level 8 organization, Texas Children’s has implemented several technologies and strategies to analyze data, including experimenting with more advanced technologies, like telehealth, which has helped the organization expand access to care, resulting in meaningful clinical and efficiency outcomes.
Texas Children’s was noted for several IS achievements including:
- Advancing population health management – Health tools and registries were introduced within Epic for key patient populations such as those with cystic fibrosis, asthma and diabetes. IS implemented the QlickView application for patient stratification to assist with care coordination. By leveraging data analytics, physicians can track and address patient needs, and pinpoint unmet needs and gaps in data or service delivery. Proactive steps can then be taken to ensure patients receive the services they need to make a difference in their care and improve clinical outcomes.
- Online Patient Portals – Additional enhancements were added to MyChart – like eCheck In and Online Scheduling – to improve functionality and optimize the overall patient experience.
- Telehealth services – The IS team integrated telehealth capabilities within patient portals, which has enabled in-person visits to be converted to a phone or video appointment, making it easier and convenient for patients to connect with a Texas Children’s provider without leaving home. Additionally, our e-Health and IS teams have been very supportive in helping our physician and nursing leaders leverage technology to make e-rounding/e-consulting possible for inpatient areas.
Texas Children’s was among the 30,091 organizations represented in the 2020 Digital Health Most Wired program, which this year included four separate surveys: domestic, ambulatory, long-term care and international. The surveys assessed the adoption, integration and impact of technologies in health care organizations at all stages of development, from early development to industry leading.
“Digital technology has been a driver of innovation in healthcare for many years now, but never to the degree that we saw in 2020 with the pandemic,” said CHIME President and CEO Russell P. Branzell. “The Digital Health Most Wired program underscores why healthcare organizations keep pushing themselves to be digital leaders and show what amazing feats they can achieve.”