LUMC recognized as one of the nation's Most Wired Hospitals and Health Systems

Loyola University Medical Center (LUMC) has been named one of the nation's Most Wired Hospitals and Health Systems, according to results of the 2011 Most Wired Survey and Benchmarking Study. These results were published in the July issue of the American Hospital Association's Hospitals & Health Networks (H&HN) magazine.

"Loyola is honored to be recognized for the advances we have made in information technology," said Art Krumrey, vice president and chief information officer, LUMC. "These innovations have allowed the organization to better communicate with our patients and provide quality care that goes beyond the bedside."

2011 marks the 13th annual release of the list of Most Wired Hospitals and Health Systems. LUMC was one of the 154 organizations named Most Wired of the 1,388 hospitals that applied. This award marks the ninth time LUMC has been named to the list.

Hospitals are named to the list based on progress in adoption, implementation and use of information technology in infrastructure, business and administrative management, clinical quality and safety and care continuum.

Among the reasons LUMC was included on the list was its ongoing investment in electronic health records. LUMC is among a small percentage of institutions that fully use electronic health records. The technology allows physicians to receive patient test results and communications from other physicians more quickly and easily through electronic inboxes. LUHS recently became one of a small group to earn more than $2 million in funding from the federal government for Loyola University Hospital's first stage of using electronic health records in a meaningful way.

The organization also launched a portal in the last year to directly link outside referring physicians to LUMC specialists and their patients' record. LUMC also became the first in the west and southwest suburbs to allow patients to see test results, communicate with their doctors and make appointments online through an application called myLoyola Select®. This service is free and has apps for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch.

"The myLoyola Select connection empowers patients to be more involved with their health care," said Dr. Keith Veselik, medical director of Primary Care. "It facilitates communication between the patient and the doctor's office, and eliminates phone tag."