Baystate Health has again been recognized for embracing the use of the most advanced information technology necessary to deliver today’s best patient care.
One of the largest healthcare systems in New England, Baystate Health has earned the designation of a Digital Health Most Wired healthcare organization by the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) for the ninth time.
The national outfit’s annual survey is designed to assess how effectively healthcare organizations apply core and advanced technologies into their clinical and business programs to improve health and care in their communities.
During the Pandemic
This year’s 2021 Most Wired designation honors Baystate for the successful adoption, implementation, and use of core and advanced information technology to improve the health and experiences of employees and consumers. The health system was also recognized for its efforts to employ technologies and strategies, such as population health and cost-of-care analytics, HIEs, integration engines, and a robust patient portal to achieve meaningful clinical and efficiency outcomes.
"I applaud our Informatics & Technology and clinical teams for their dedication to delivering high value care,” said Joel Vengco, senior vice president and chief information & digital officer for Baystate Health. “Even amidst the pandemic, our teams continued to deploy and use technology to deliver care in new and better ways.”
Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, I&T was steadfast in its support of managing thousands of employees as they began to work remotely, building virtual care experiences through BH Connect for safer care visits, and numerous innovations such as a vaccination scheduling app, Family Video Chat, and a chat bot to answer patient questions about COVID, he noted.
A Wave of Innovation
“Digital transformation in healthcare has accelerated to an unprecedented level since 2020, and the next few years will bring a wave of innovation that empowers healthcare consumers and will astound the industry,” said Russell P. Branzell, CHIME president and CEO. “The Digital Health Most Wired program recognizes the outstanding digital leaders who have paved the way for this imminent revolution in healthcare. Their trailblazing commitment to rapid transformation has set an example for the entire industry in how to pursue a leadership vision with determination, brilliant planning and courage to overcome all challenges.”
A total of 36,674 organizations were represented in the 2021 Digital Health Most Wired program, which includes four separate surveys: acute, ambulatory, long-term care and international acute. The surveys assessed the adoption, integration and impact of technologies in healthcare organizations at all stages of development, from early development to industry leading. This is the ninth time Baystate has earned the award in the Acute category, and the second for Ambulatory. Baystate Health’s use of technologies like BH Connect virtual visits—that expand access to care—place it among more advanced health care organizations.
Each participating organization received a customized benchmarking report, an overall score and scores for individual levels in eight segments: infrastructure; security; business/disaster recovery; administrative/supply chain; analytics/data management; interoperability/population health; patient engagement; and clinical quality/safety. Participants – who can use the report and scores to identify strengths and opportunities for improvement – also received certification based on their overall performance, with level 10 being the highest. Baystate was certified as a Most Wired Level 8, receiving the Quality Award.
For more information about the CHIME Digital Health Most Wired program, visit chimecentral.org/chime-most-wired-2/.