HackensackUMC Achieves Stage Six of HIMSS Criteria for Electronic Medical Record Technology

HackensackUMC is proud to announce that it has achieved stage six of Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society(HIMSS) criteria. Only about eight percent, or 458 out of 6,000 hospitals in the nation, have achieved this unique status.

“HackensackUMC is committed to staying ahead of the curve in healthcare reform implementation on all levels,” said Robert C. Garrett, president and chief executive officer, Hackensack University Health Network. “This achievement of stage six demonstrates the value we place on technology and its future in healthcare.”

As the nation prepares for reform, hospitals and other providers have until 2015 to demonstrate meaningful use of certified Electronic Medical Record (EMR) technology, or risk penalties. HIMSS Analytics devised the EMR Adoption Model, an 8-step process to track progress against healthcare organizations across the country and view all scores in the HIMSS Analytics® Database.

According to HIMSS, “To achieve stage six, full physician documentation with structured templates and discrete data is implemented for at least one inpatient care service area for progress notes, consult notes, discharge summaries or problem list & diagnosis list maintenance. Level three of clinical decision support provides guidance for all clinician activities related to protocols and outcomes in the form of variance and compliance alerts. A full complement of radiology picture archive and communication systems (PACS) systems provides medical images to physicians via an intranet and displaces all film-based images. Cardiology PACS and document imaging are scored with extra points.”

“We are so proud that HackensackUMC has achieved stage six in a relatively short period of time,” said Shafiq Rab, M.D., vice president and chief information officer of HackensackUMC. “This clearly demonstrates our medical center’s commitment to healthcare reform, ensuring an enhanced experience for our medical team, as well improved and more efficient healthcare outcomes. This achievement would not have been possible without the help and support of our physicians, nurses and entire medical team, and we now look forward to achieving stage seven.”

Garrett added, “I would like to thank Dr. Rab and our Information Technology Department for their tireless work in briskly moving HackensackUMC further through the EMR Adoption Model. This will ultimately improve care and efficiency throughout our medical center.”

About Hackensack University Medical Center
HackensackUMC, a nonprofit teaching and research hospital located in Bergen County, NJ, is the largest provider of inpatient and outpatient services in the state. It is the flagship hospital of the Hackensack University Health Network, one of the largest health networks in the state comprised of 1,140 beds, nearly 10,000 employees and 2,200 credentialed physicians.HackensackUMC was listed as the number one hospital in New Jersey and one of the top four New York metro area hospitals by the U.S. News & World Report, and has received nine national rankingsin: Cancer; Cardiology & Heart Surgery; Ear, Nose & Throat; Gastroenterology; Geriatrics; Neurology & Neurosurgery; Orthopedics; Urology; and the Joseph M. Sanzari Children’s Hospital ranked as one of the Top 25 Best Children’s Hospitals for Neurology and Neurosurgery in the 2012-13 Best Children’s Hospitals list. HackensackUMC is among Healthgrades® America’s Best 100 Hospitals in 10 different areas – more than any other hospital in the nation, is one of Healthgrades America's 50 Best Hospitals™ for seven years in a row, and received the Healthgrades Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical Excellence™ 11 years in a row. The medical center has also been named a Leapfrog Top Hospital, and received 19 Gold Seals of Approval™ by the Joint Commission – more than any other hospital in the country. It was the first hospital in New Jersey and second in the nation to become a Magnet® recognized hospital for nursing excellence. HackensackUMC is the Hometown Hospital of the New York Giants and the New York Red Bulls, and remains committed to its community through fundraising and community events. To learn more, visit: www.HackensackUMC.org.   

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