Navicent Health Among 2018's Most Wired Health Systems

The College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) has named 254 organizations - including Atrium Health Navicent - 2018 CHIME HealthCare's Most Wired recipients. The honor, which is given to hospitals and health systems that are at the forefront of using healthcare IT to improve the delivery of care, was announced at the 2018 CHIME Fall CIO Forum in San Diego.

A total of 647 organizations representing 2,190 hospitals from nine countries submitted surveys. A supplement listing the 254 organizations was released at the forum and published online on the CHIME website as well as on Modern Healthcare Custom Media's website.

"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. At Atrium Health Navicent, we are pleased to partner with our patients through the use of technology to better serve those who rely on us for their health and wellness needs," said Omer Awan, Chief Information Officer for Atrium Health Navicent and recent recipient of CHIME's 2018 Transformational Leadership Award.

Atrium Health Navicent is continually pursuing technological advances in order to best serve the needs of healthcare consumers, and increase access to care. Whether through the development of mobile apps or advances in telehealth technology, Atrium Health Navicent continues to lead the region in providing access to healthcare services in convenient, user-friendly and consumer-focused manners.

"At Atrium Health Navicent, we are committed to providing consumers access to quality care at the right time and in the right place. In the twenty-first century, that time is now and that place is here, wherever that may be. Through technology, healthcare consumers now have immediate access to the care they need, as soon as they need it. We applaud our IT Team for the measures they have taken to best meet the needs of those who depend on Atrium Health Navicent for timely care," said Dr. Ninfa M. Saunders, President and CEO of Atrium Health Navicent.

This is the second consecutive year that Atrium Health Navicent has been included on the national listing, and qualified this year based on a new set of guidelines. This is the first year that CHIME oversaw the Most Wired program. CHIME revised and streamlined the survey to make sure questions reflect leading practices and successful, innovative uses of technology. Other changes include creating a new scoring methodology, setting a higher threshold to become a recipient, offering a comprehensive benchmarking report to all participants, and restructuring the governing board with no sitting CIOs as members to remove any perceived bias or conflicts of interest. CHIME also published an industry trends report, which was made available online here.

"At CHIME, we believe that sharing best practices nationally and globally across the healthcare IT industry will improve patient safety and outcomes everywhere," said CHIME President and CEO Russell Branzell. "Most Wired will help us achieve that goal, and more."

William Spooner, chair of the Most Wired Governing Board, said that the governing board will reassess the survey questions and recalibrate the threshold each year to drive change in the industry.

"This is only the start for Most Wired," Spooner said. "Most Wired has a new purpose, and that is the relentless pursuit of excellence in healthcare. We won't quit until we have achieved excellence across our industry."

About CHIME

The College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) is an executive organization dedicated to serving chief information officers (CIOs), chief medical information officers (CMIOs), chief nursing information officers (CNIOs) and other senior healthcare IT leaders. With more than 2,800 members in 51 countries and over 150 healthcare IT business partners and professional services firms, CHIME provides a highly interactive, trusted environment enabling senior professional and industry leaders to collaborate; exchange best practices; address professional development needs; and advocate the effective use of information management to improve the health and healthcare in the communities they serve. For more information, please visit chimecentral.org.

About Atrium Health Navicent

Atrium Health Navicent was incorporated on November 17, 1994, as a nonprofit corporation whose primary purpose is to coordinate The Medical Center, Navicent Health and other affiliated entities in their mission of providing a comprehensive continuum of high quality, reasonably priced healthcare services to the region. Atrium Health Navicent has 970 beds for medical, surgical, rehabilitation and hospice purposes. The health system includes The Medical Center, Navicent Health, a nationally recognized tertiary teaching hospital; Atrium Health Navicent Beverly Knight Olson Children's Hospital, the region's only dedicated pediatric hospital; Atrium Health Navicent Baldwin and Medical Center of Peach County, Atrium Health Navicent, both rural hospitals; Rehabilitation Hospital, Atrium Health Navicent, the region's oldest and most experienced rehabilitation provider; Pine Pointe, Atrium Health Navicent, which provides palliative and hospice care in homes and in its facility; Carlyle Place, Atrium Health Navicent, the area's first continuing care retirement community; Navicent Health Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Atrium Health Navicent; as well as diagnostic and home care services. For more information, please visit www.navicenthealth.org.