Technology is making it easier for patients and providers to interact, which improves communication, safety and patient-provider relationships. Aspirus Wausau Hospital is at the leading edge of this trend, and has been named among the Most Wired Hospitals in the country, according to the 19th Annual Health Care’s Most Wired® survey, released this week by the American Hospital Association’s (AHA) Health Forum.

According to the survey, Most Wired hospitals are using smart phones, telehealth and remote monitoring to create more ways for patients to access health care services and capture health information.

“This isn’t an award for having a great electronic health record, or a pretty website,” said Senior Vice President of Information Technology and Chief Information Officer for Aspirus, Todd Richardson. “This is about marrying solid technology with the operations of our business and effectively using it to improve patient care and streamline operations. That’s why I’m so proud that Aspirus has been recognized.”

That pride spans the system, because every one of Aspirus’ eight hospitals was named a Most Wired Hospital.

“The Most Wired hospitals are using every available technology option to create more ways to reach their patients in order to provide access to care,” said AHA President and CEO Rick Pollack. “They are transforming care delivery, investing in new delivery models in order to improve quality, provide access and control costs.”

Innovation in patient care embraces emerging technologies and underscores the need for secure patient information exchange. Hospitals have increased their use of sophisticated IT monitoring systems to detect patient privacy breaches, monitor for malicious activities or policy violations and produce real-time analysis of security alerts.

Aspirus Wausau Hospital President Darrell Lentz said the recognition indicates that something special is happening at Aspirus. “We have the most incredible people who have built a culture of compassion and excellence,” he said. “When you combine that with innovative technology, you have a hospital that is a true asset to the community it serves.”

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.

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.