A Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society subsidiary recognized Grand Forks, N.D.-based Altru Health System for its work advancing its EMR.
HIMSS Analytics re-validated Altru Health System's Stage 7 designation on its eight-stage EMR Adoption Model, which measures the degree to which a hospital or health system uses its EMR functions. Six percent of U.S. hospitals have reached Stage 7, the highest designation.
One of the health system's IT initiatives focused on increasing patient adoption of patient portals, which house services related to online scheduling, pre-visit paperwork and telehealth.
The proportion of patients using Altru Health System's patient portal has risen steadily since the platform's implementation in 2010. Today, 30 to 40 percent of the health system's patients use the tool to message providers between appointments.
"The Stage 7 awards are much more than something to hang on the wall, as it provides the added incentive to improve EMR functionality that can improve the care we deliver," Mark Waind, CIO of Altru Health System, said in a HIMSS blog post. "All of this adds up to a more informed patient, improved safety and ultimately better patient outcomes."