Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh leads the use of electronic health records among U.S. pediatric hospitals

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Reviewed

Aug 29 2009

Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC has been recognized by KLAS, an independent healthcare research organization, as the leader in its use of healthcare information technology among pediatric hospitals in the United States.

KLAS interviewed leaders at virtually every hospital in the United States that reported physicians and nurses actively using commercially available software to order and chart under an organized program sponsored by the hospital, said KLAS Founder Kent Gale during a presentation this week at Children's Hospital.

"During the course of that research we were pleased to discover the remarkable milestone Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC had achieved in its use of electronic health records, moving to mostly paperless operation," he said. "That achievement makes Children's Hospital one of the nation's leaders in healthcare technology adoption. This is only the third time in 12 years that KLAS has recognized a specific healthcare organization for the depth of adoption of electronic health records."

The new Children's Hospital, which opened in May, is one of the most advanced digital hospitals in the country and among the first with a fully integrated electronic health record. Children's Hospital began its implementation of an electronic health record in 2001 when it became one of the first hospitals in the nation to adopt a computerized provider order entry (CPOE) system.

"This recognition is a real tribute to the hard work and ingenuity of the physicians and employees of Children's Hospital, the UPMC information technology teams, and our partners at Cerner Corporation. The automation of clinical information across the continuum of care is a highly complex and challenging undertaking that can only be accomplished through outstanding teamwork," said Christopher Gessner, president, Children's Hospital. "Our investment in a comprehensive electronic health record and full automation leads directly to improvements in patient safety and quality. With the capabilities we now have at our digital campus, we will continue to create even more benefits to our patients through the blending of cutting edge technology and compassionate, family-centered care."

KLAS' determination of Children's Hospital's leadership position was based upon a number of factors including the percentage of possible physicians doing CPOE, the percentage of possible orders submitted via CPOE (inpatient and ambulatory), the percentage of physicians entering notes and documenting using an electronic health record (inpatient and ambulatory), a fully shared record between inpatient and ambulatory, the percentage of hospital beds where barcode technology is used for medication administration and the percentage of nurses charting and documenting electronically (inpatient and ambulatory).

During the presentation, Gale said the future of health care information technology is to use the systems to mine data to improve safety and quality, as Children's Hospital is now starting to do. "You are one of the pioneers," he said.

KLAS' Top Five U.S. Children's Hospitals in the Use of Electronic Health Records: