Allenmore Hospital

(PIERCE COUNTY) – “It’s like winning the Oscar for Best Motion Picture,” explains Florence S. Chang, Chief Information Officer and Senior VP of Clinical Support Services at MultiCare Health System. Chang is referring to the prestigious HIMSS Davies Organizational Award of Excellence given to just one health care system in the country that effectively uses health information technology, such as electronic health records, to improve the safety and quality of patient care.

HIMSS (Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society) visited MultiCare’s Tacoma campus last month to better understand its electronic health record, MultiCare Connect.

Patricia Wise, RN, and VP, HIMSS was a member of the site team that got a hands-on look at MultiCare Connect. Speaking for the team, she said, “The amount of work you’ve done individually and collectively is so impressive.” She added, “Implementation is such rigorous work and what we’ve seen in your hospitals is a testament to your commitment to patient safety and quality.”

“For ten years, we have been creating a new level of quality patient care with MultiCare Connect, first in our clinics and now in our hospitals,” said Diane Cecchettini, RN, President and CEO of MultiCare. “Receiving this award is a tribute to our physicians and staff who are using the electronic health record each and every day in caring for our patients.”

All MultiCare outpatient clinics and the three Tacoma campus hospitals are linked to MultiCare Connect. MultiCare Good Samaritan Hospital in Puyallup will be online in the spring of 2010.

MultiCare patients can view their health record, lab and test results, schedule an appointment or refill prescriptions using a secure patient portal called MyChart (Powered by MultiCare) at home or anywhere they have internet access.

“Being recognized as tops in the country is an incredible honor,” says Chang, “and wonderful validation for the work we have been doing to create an electronic health record that follows one patient with one record.” She went on to say, “We have been using MultiCare Connect for the past decade. Without the engagement from our physicians and the strong foundation developed early in our outpatient clinics, the implementation in our hospitals would not have been as successful and our patients would not have reaped the benefits of seamless, connected care."

Media Contact:
Jennifer Aalgaard
253-219-1715
jennifer.aalgaard@multicare.org