Nemours Wins High Honors for Electronic Health Records

ORLANDO, FL - Nemours, one of the nation’s premier pediatric health systems, has received the prestigious HIMSS Davies Organizational Award of Excellence for 2010 from the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS).

The award is presented to health care systems and facilities that effectively use health information technology, such as electronic health records, to improve the safety and quality of patient care. The HIMSS Annual Conference and Exhibition was held last week at the Orange County Convention Center and the award was presented February 21 at the Peabody Hotel during the Electronic Health Record (EHR) Achievement Event.

“For ten years, we have been creating a new level of quality patient care with NemoursOne,” said Gina Altieri, Nemours Vice President for Corporate Services. “Receiving this award is a tribute to our physicians and staff who are using the electronic health record each and every day to improve care for our patients.”

All Nemours Children's Clinic locations and the Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, DE, are linked to NemoursOne across four states. The Nemours Children’s Hospital in Orlando will also be online when it opens in 2012. NemoursOne, in combination with its data warehouse, has developed a streamlined medication reconciliation process, a challenge nationwide, with an outpatient system-wide rate currently at 88 percent.

“Our first commitment is to the care and safety of our patients,” remarked Dr. David E. Milov, Chief Medical Information Officer, Nemours. “Without the engagement of our physicians, the commitment of our entire organization and the investment we made in creating a strong foundation, this achievement would not have been possible and our patients would not have reaped the benefits of safe, quality care. This is great validation of the work Nemours does for our patients.”

“The Davies Organizational Award recognizes excellence in the methods for implementation and the value derived from the use of an EHR. The Davies program objectives include promoting the use of EHRs, understanding the value of EHRs and raising visibility of EHRs through sharing successful implementations,” says Tom Smith, Chair HIMSS Organizational Davies Award Committee. Smith is also Chief Information Officer, NorthShore University HealthSystem in Evanston, IL, a 2004 Davies Award winner. “In addition, to helping other organizations by documenting best practices, organizations that apply for Davies Awards have a powerful tool for recognizing the effort that the staff of their organization expends to implement and support an EHR.”