U.S. News Ranks 5 Michigan Hospitals as "Most Connected" in U.S. -- and All 5 Are DMC

DETROIT, July 20, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- On the heels of Detroit Medical Center's (DMC) superior rankings by U.S. News Media & World Report's "Best Hospitals," that same publication has listed five DMC hospitals as the only hospitals in Michigan that are among the nation's "most connected." The listing affirms DMC as a leader statewide and nationally in its use of Electronic Medical Records (EMR).

EMR is computer-based technology that manages patient medical information and physician orders, and allows medication scanning, making vital health information accessible to clinicians at all times with the click of a mouse. These advances protect patients from hospital errors, and most importantly help save lives.

The five DMC Hospitals on the U.S. News Media & World Report's "Most Connected Hospitals" list are DMC Children's Hospital of Michigan, DMC Detroit Receiving Hospital, DMC Harper University Hospital, DMC Huron Valley-Sinai Hospital and DMC Sinai-Grace Hospital.

To make the list, hospitals had to meet two challenging standards that demonstrated they were leading the transition of medicine into the era of EMR. Only hospitals that already had the distinction of a national ranking in the just-released 2011-12 U.S. News "Best Hospitals" and/or "Best Children's Hospitals" rankings, or a designation as "high-performing" in one or more medical specialties were even considered for the "Most Connected Hospitals" list.

Only hospitals at Stage 6 or Stage 7 of the EMR Adoption Model of HIMSS Analytics appear on the "Most Connected Hospitals" list. HIMSS Analytics (Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society Analytics) scores hospitals' adoption of electronic medical records on a scale from Stage 0 (no use of EMR) to Stage 7 (full use). Detroit Medical Center is one the largest healthcare systems in the nation to reach Stage 6.

HIMSS is a comprehensive healthcare-stakeholder membership organization exclusively focused on providing global leadership for the optimal use of information technology and management systems for the betterment of healthcare.

"At DMC, we understand the value of EMR because we know it's the best way to keep our clinical teams connected to the common goal of patient safety and improved care," said DMC President & CEO Michael Duggan. "We've dedicated great resources to our EMR effort for the last five years – long before anyone else in the state had it on their radar."

DMC began its transformation to EMR back in 2006 and was fully implemented throughout all of the DMC hospitals by October 2007.

"The real value of EMR is that it optimizes medical care by effectively linking technology to the everyday processes that our clinical staff use to meet the needs of our patients, said Mike LeRoy, Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer, Detroit Medical Center. "This technology helps us save lives everyday."

To view all DMC hospitals and their rankings, visit http://www.dmc.org/besthospitals.

About Detroit Medical Center (DMC) www.dmc.org

The Detroit Medical Center operates eight hospitals and one institute, including DMC Children's Hospital of Michigan, DMC Detroit Receiving Hospital, DMC Harper University Hospital, DMC Huron Valley-Sinai Hospital, DMC Hutzel Women's Hospital, DMC Rehabilitation Institute of Michigan, DMC Sinai-Grace Hospital, DMC Surgery Hospital, and DMC Cardiovascular Institute.   

The Detroit Medical Center is a leading regional healthcare system with a mission of excellence in clinical care, research and medical education.

The Detroit Medical Center is proud to be the Official Healthcare Services Provider of the Detroit Tigers, Detroit Red Wings and Detroit Pistons.

SOURCE Detroit Medical Center