NMC was recently named one of the 2017 “Most Wired” Hospitals, recognizing the hospital’s use of technology to improve the efficiency of care delivery and create a new dynamic in patient interactions. The award marks the second consecutive year NMC has been honored with this recognition by the American Hospital Association’s Health Forum.

Technology is making it easier for patients and providers to interact, thus improving communication, safety and patient-provider relationships. New tools are helping patients become more actively involved in their care and maintaining their health, according to results of the 19th Annual Health Care’s Most Wired® survey, released by the American Hospital Association’s (AHA) Health Forum.

In the past year, NMC upgraded its Electronic Medical Record system, including full integration with the Emergency Department. The hospital also enhanced firewalls and security monitoring systems and invested in data analytics to better identify and report trends in population health.

“NMC’s technology initiatives have us on the right path, leading to healthcare reform,” said Joel Benware NMC’s Chief Information, Innovation and Compliance Officer. “We strive to build highly reliable systems that allow for clinical and business decisions driven by quality data.”

Most Wired hospitals are transforming care delivery with knowledge gained from data and analytics. They are investing in analytics to support new delivery models and effective decision-making and training clinicians on how to use analytics to improve quality, provide access and control costs.

This national recognition is an example of NMC’s vision to be nationally recognized for excellence and value in healthcare as the organization partners to improve the wellness of the community and become a destination of choice for patients, staff, and providers.

As NMC works on providing easy access to information for patients, the hospital uses best practices for privacy and safety matters, always with the customer in mind and always striving toward the next stage of improvement.

“It’s a journey,” said Benware. “We have implemented many advances in technology, and work constantly on developing the next level of innovation for the good of our patients and our providers.”

HealthCare’s Most Wired® survey, conducted between Jan. 15 and March 15, 2017, is published annually by Health & Hospitals Networks (H&HN). The 2017 Most Wired® survey and benchmarking study is a leading industry barometer measuring information technology (IT) use and adoption among hospitals nationwide. The survey of 698 participants, representing an estimated 2,158 hospitals — more than 39 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, visit www.hhnmag.com.