Lafayette General Health Named 2016 Most Wired

Lafayette General Health (LGH) has been named a winner of the 2016 Most Wired award by the American Hospital Association (AHA). This is the first year the award was presented to the entire health system, instead of individual hospitals that have earned the award in previous years. Last year, Lafayette General Medical Center, Lafayette General Surgical Hospital and St. Martin Hospital received the award.

LGH was the only healthcare provider in Acadiana presented with a Most Wired award. The only other entity in the state to win the award was Ochsner Health System (OHS) in New Orleans. Both LGH and OHS are members of the Ochsner Health Network.

Technology is improving the efficiency of care delivery and is creating a new dynamic in patient interactions, according to results of the 18th Annual Health Care’s Most Wired® survey, released earlier this month by the AHA’s Health Forum.

According to the survey, Most Wired hospitals are using telehealth to fill gaps in care; providing services 24 hours a day, 7 days a week that were not traditionally offered around the clock; and expanding access to medical specialists.

The top three telehealth services offered in hospitals are consultations and office visits, stroke care, and psychiatric examinations and psychotherapy. Lafayette General Health participates in workplace and school-based telemedicine clinics in Lafayette and St. Martin parishes.

All LGH hospitals and its Urgent Care Centers share an electronic medical records system, which means patient data is updated instantly and accurately at any LGH facility. LGH patients are also offered an online patient portal, where records are securely stored and can be accessed by the patient at any time.

More than 25 percent of hospitals use internet-enabled monitoring devices for chronic disease management of congestive heart failure, diabetes and heart disease, and LGH is in the process of launching telecardio services at Abrom Kaplan Memorial Hospital in Kaplan.

“We are proud that we continue to be at the forefront of national trends in using technology across our system,” says David L. Callecod, President of the LGH system. “Our IT platform helps us provide our patients with a better experience, improved care and outcomes. Our team’s work is preparing LGH to thrive in a value-based reimbursement environment.”

“Hospitals are breaking-out of their traditional four walls and providing care where and when patients need it,” said Rick Pollack, president and CEO of the AHA. “These Most Wired hospitals exemplify this transformation by harnessing technology, engaging patients and offering services remotely. And, removing policy and other barriers to telehealth will allow even faster adoption of these amazing technologies.”

Most Wired hospitals are utilizing population health management tools and partnering with other health care providers to share critical clinical information used in analyzing interventions aimed at key patient groups, such as those with diabetes. To get patients the right care, hospitals are using predictive modeling to eliminate preventable problems.

• 53 percent interface electronic health record data with population health tools.
• 62 percent stratify patients according to risk.
• 51 percent aggregate data from patient encounters to create a community health record.

As they build out new capabilities, hospitals are also taking strong actions to ensure health data is secure.

More than 90 percent use intrusion detection systems, privacy audit systems and security incident event management to detect patient privacy breaches, monitor for malicious activities and produce real-time analysis of security alerts. 
84 percent conduct a third-party security audit annually to ensure that guidelines are followed.

HealthCare’s Most Wired® survey, conducted between Jan. 15 and March 15, 2016, is published annually by Health & Hospitals Networks (H&HN). The 2016 Most Wired® survey and benchmarking study is a leading industry barometer measuring information technology (IT) use and adoption among hospitals nationwide. The survey of 680 participants, representing an estimated 2,146 hospitals—more than 34 percent of all hospitals in the U.S.—examines how organizations are leveraging IT to improve performance for value-based health care in the areas of infrastructure, business and administrative management; quality and safety; and clinical integration.

Detailed results of the survey and study can be found in the July issue of H&HN. For a full list of winners online, visit hhnmag.com.