Survey Finds Hospitals Making Progress on Health IT Adoption

Although most hospitals that participated in the American Hospital Association's 2011 "Most Wired Survey" are moving forward with implementation of clinical care and patient safety technology, they continue to be challenged by federal meaningful use criteria.

To determine the Most Wired list, published this month in Hospitals & Health Networks magazine, hospitals were evaluated on four factors:

1. Business and administrative management;
2. Care continuum;
3. Clinical quality and safety; and
4. Infrastructure.

The survey included additional requirements that corresponded to meaningful use criteria. Under the 2009 economic stimulus package, health care providers who demonstrate meaningful use of certified electronic health record systems can qualify for Medicaid and Medicare incentive payments. According to the results, hospitals generally reported strong advances in certain areas of health IT adoption. Most Wired hospitals reported significant advances in computerized provider order entry. According to the survey, hospitals generally reported strong advances in certain areas of health IT adoption. Most Wired hospitals reported strong advances in computerized provider order entry.