Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center Named One of the 2007 "Most Wired" Hospitals

July 25, 2007

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center is one of the nation’s “Most Wired” hospitals, according to the results of the 2007 Most Wired Survey and Benchmarking Study released in the July issue of Hospitals & Health Networks magazine. The magazine has named the 100 Most Wired hospitals and health systems since 1999.
“This is the fifth year we have achieved the Most Wired award, demonstrating our medical center’s commitment to leadership in information technology in advancing the highest quality of patient care,” said Paul LoRusso, vice president for information services and the medical center’s chief information officer.
Based on analysis of the ninth annual Most Wired Survey and Benchmarking Study results, hospitals are embracing technology as a key tool for health care quality improvements. Technology is helping to improve outcomes in four key areas: mortality rates, patient safety measures from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), core measures from Hospital Compare and average length of stay.
“Many hospitals have made strong commitments to using information technology to improve the quality of care,” said Rich Umbdenstock, president and CEO of the American Hospital Association. “They are combining technology with clinical knowledge and creativity with a focus on improving outcomes, and making care safer and more streamlined for both patients and clinicians.”
The Most Wired Survey is conducted annually by Hospitals & Health Networks magazine, which uses the results to name the 100 Most Wired hospitals and health systems. It focuses on how the nation’s hospitals use information technologies for quality, customer service, public health and safety, business processes and workforce issues.
The July H&HN cover story detailing results is available at www.hhnmag.com.
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Media contact: Mark Wright, mwright@wfubmc.edu, 336-716-3382; Bonnie Davis, bdavis@wfubmc.edu; or Shannon Koontz, shkoontz@wfubmc.edu, (336) 716-4587.

About the Most Wired Survey and Benchmarking Study
Hospitals & Health Networks, the journal of the American Hospital Association, conducts the voluntary Most Wired Survey and Benchmarking Study annually and names the 100 Most Wired.

Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center is an academic health system comprised of North Carolina Baptist Hospital and Wake Forest University Health Sciences, which operates the university’s School of Medicine. The system comprises 1,154 acute care, psychiatric, rehabilitation and long-term care beds and is consistently ranked as one of “America’s Best Hospitals” by U.S. News & World Report.

Media Relations

Main Number: news@wakehealth.edu, 336-713-4587