HIMSS Analytics has announced that 20 Navicent Health outpatient sites have achieved Stage 6 on the Electronic Medical Record Adoption Model. Navicent Health is known as a leader in health systems technology, including the adoption of EMR to ensure patient safety, quality and continuity of care.
 
“In order to reach Stage 6 designation, our Information Technology department and our outpatient facilities worked tirelessly together to implement electronic medical records that include full physician documentation, including progress notes, consult notes and discharge summaries. We have also worked to integrate a full range of electronic medical images, displacing film-based images, to provide timely access to needed information. The purpose of this implementation is to improve access to timely, quality care and therefore keep the patient at the center of all that we do,” said Omer Awan, Chief Information Officer for Navicent Health.
 
As of April 2017, only 8,202 outpatient facilities in the U.S. boast a Stage 6 designation.
 
HIMSS Analytics developed the Outpatient EMR Adoption ModelSM in 2012 as a methodology for evaluating the progress and impact of EMR systems for ambulatory facilities in the HIMSS Analytics LOGIC. Tracking their progress in completing eight stages (0-7), ambulatory sites can review the implementation and utilization of information technology applications with the intent of reaching Stage 7, which represents an advanced electronic patient record environment.
 
Stage 6 ambulatory facilities share the following attributes:
 
Have made significant executive commitments and investments to reach this stage.
 
Appear to have a significant advantage over competitors for patient safety, clinician support, clinician recruitment, and competitive marketing for both consumers and nurse recruitment.
 
Have almost fully automated/paperless medical records when they have implemented their IT applications across most of the outpatient care settings.
 
Are either starting to evaluate their data for care delivery process improvements or have already documented significant improvements in this area.
 
Have made investments that are within reach of most clinics and recognize the strategic value of improving patient care with the EMR.
 
Have begun to create strategic alignments with their medical staff to effectively utilize information technology to improve patient engagement and population health
 
Are well positioned to provide data to key stakeholders, such as payers, the government, physicians, consumers, and employers, to support electronic health record environments and health information exchanges.
 
Stage 6 organizations also have achieved a significant advancement in their IT capabilities that positions them to successfully address many of the current industry transformations, such as meaningful use criteria in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, claims attachments for the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, pay for performance, and government quality reporting programs.
 
“This milestone represents Navicent Health’s commitment to providing the highest level of care to our patients and our partners through safety, clinical excellence, cost excellence and service excellence. Navicent Health continues to lead the industry amid technological advances and healthcare reform,” said Christopher Hendry, M.D., Chief Medical Officer for Navicent Health.
 
“HIMSS Analytics congratulates Navicent Health for making significant progress towards achieving advanced health IT adoption,” said John H. Daniels, CNM, FACHE, FHIMSS, CPHIMS, Global Vice President, HIMSS Analytics.  “Stage 6 represents a level of sophistication that can lead to innovative healthcare transformation.”