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Lehigh Valley Health Network (LVHN) is one of just eight health care organizations across the U.S. to achieve a Level 10 designation in the College of Healthcare Information Management Executive’s (CHIME) 2020 Healthcare’s Most Wired survey, which assesses how effectively health care organizations apply technology to support clinicians and patients.
Based on the 2020 detailed survey and review, hospitals/health systems earned a level from 1 to 10 for acute, ambulatory and long-term care. LVHN was awarded a Level 10 designation for acute and ambulatory care. CHIME defines Level 10 organizations as leaders in health care technology who actively push the industry forward, often leveraging these technologies in innovative ways and encouraging deep adoption across their organization.
A total of 63 other health care organizations achieved Level 9 Most Wired recognition. More than 30,000 health care organizations worldwide participated in the 2020 survey.
“I have never been prouder of the LVHN Technology team,” says Michael Minear, Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer at LVHN. “This challenging health care technology benchmark awarded by such a respected health care organization validates what we strive for every day: using technology to support patients and clinicians at the highest level.”
Some of the technological accomplishments that earned LVHN its Level 10 recognition include:
- MyLVHN Bedside – iPads for patients to access their clinical records, to communicate with LVHN clinicians, and to videoconference with family and friends are supported in every patient room.
- Remote patient monitoring – More than 1,000 patients have been given a package of testing devices and communication technology to use at home with interfaces to the LVHN electronic health records (EHR). This direct connection enables patients to share clinical data and communicate with LVHN care teams, providing a new type of ongoing chronic care.
- Nursing communication tools – iPhones were deployed to inpatient nurses, giving them mobile access to the EHR and specialized communication tools.
- LVHN Patient TV – Sophisticated patient television technology interfaces with the LVHN EHR to deliver educational videos to patients as well as many options for them to optimize their stay in the hospital.
- Digital/mobile infrastructure – The use of mobile versions of Epic EHR software applications has increased 300 percent via iPad and 100 percent via iPhone since the pandemic began.
- COVID-19 response – LVHN Technology colleagues worked seven days a week, 14 hours a day during the pandemic surge in the spring of 2020 to create advanced analytic tools, deploy thousands of mobile devices and support a dramatic increase in digital encounters between clinicians and patients.
In addition to LVHN, the seven other health care organizations that achieved Level 10 Most Wired eligibility include:
- Avera Health (Sioux Falls, S.D.)
- Cedars-Sinai Medical Center (Los Angeles)
- Geisinger Health System (Danville, Pa.)
- Jackson Health System (Miami)
- University of Colorado Health (Aurora, Colo.)
- UPMC (Pittsburgh)
- Parkview Health (Fort Wayne, Ind.)
“This has been an incredibly challenging year for health care organizations around the world, and these digital health leaders should be proud of the support their teams provide in the toughest of conditions,” says CHIME President and CEO Russell P. Branzell. “The pandemic forced them to quickly pivot to services like telehealth, with their entire organization working 24/7 to help keep patients and providers safe. It is testament to their commitment to quality care that they participated in our survey – for many, for the very first time.”