SMH One of World’s ‘Most Wired’ Hospitals

October 14, 2020 – Sarasota

Sarasota Memorial Hospital has once again been recognized as one of the world’s “Most Wired” hospitals, earning Level 9 certification and a Performance Excellence Award for 2020.

The College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) included Sarasota Memorial among the world’s most tech-savvy hospitals that pioneer technologies to promote better and more secure patient care. SMH is one of only five hospitals in the Tampa Bay area to make the “Most Wired” list for 2020, and one of only two to earn Level 9 certification out of the 10 levels.

CHIME conducts the annual survey to identify and recognize the adoption of best practices in information technology by healthcare provider organizations, with the goal of improving patient safety and outcomes by driving change in healthcare IT. 

In 2019, the survey incorporated a new system providing different levels of certification. In 2020, Sarasota Memorial received the Level 9 Certification, or Performance Excellence Award, ranking in the 93rd percentile amount participating healthcare systems. Level 9 and 10 designations are for institutions not only using and improving technology, but also are seen as healthcare industry leaders in IT.

As part of the survey, hospitals are certified up to Level 10 based on scores in segments including infrastructure; security; business/disaster recovery; administrative/supply chain; analytics/data management; interoperability/population health; patient engagement; and clinical quality/safety. According to CHIME, organizations in Levels 9 and 10 “are often leaders in healthcare technology who actively push the industry forward. Not only have many of them implemented advanced technologies, but they often leverage these technologies in innovative ways and have encouraged deep adoption across their entire organization. As a result, they are realizing meaningful outcomes, including improved quality of care, improved patient experience, reduced costs, and broader patient access to healthcare services.”

More than 30,000 facilities were represented in the 2020 survey.

“Digital technology has been a driver of innovation in healthcare for many years now, but never to the degree that we saw in 2020 with the pandemic,” said CHIME President and CEO Russell P. Branzell. “The Digital Health Most Wired program underscores why healthcare organizations keep pushing themselves to be digital leaders and shows what amazing feats they can achieve. This certification recognizes their exemplary performance in 2020.”   

“This award is a testament to SMH’s ongoing commitment to deploying the most advanced technology and innovative tools to enhance patient care, communication and connectivity,” said SMH Chief Information Officer Pam Ramhofer.

Some of Sarasota Memorial’s IT advances include:

•  Employing telehealth solutions to keep physicians, clinicians and patients safely connected throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

•  Implementing sophisticated monitoring systems and data access audits that detect unauthorized access or external intrusions.

•  An electronic health records system with advanced tools to support clinical decision making and population health initiatives.