Forerunner for eArchive and ePrescription has IT systems ranking at the European top

Savonlinna central hospital is the first Finnish hospital to receive a prestigious international IT system award for hospital IT system maturity. The evaluation examined clinical and nursing documentation, practical models and ancillary IT system solutions, among other areas.

Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS), which is an independent not-for-profit organisation specialising in IT and management systems in health care, has evaluated Savonlinna central hospital, operating in Itä-Savo Hospital District, as a top-level hospital in terms of IT system development. Savonlinna is the first Finnish hospital to reach Stage 6 of the seven-stage evaluation model.

The HIMSS model for evaluating the maturity of hospital patient record systems enables an international comparison of best practices. The evaluation uses the European Electronic Medical Record (EMR) Adoption Model. Along with Savonlinna central hospital, European Stage 6 hospitals are found in Switzerland, Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Belgium, Germany and Sweden. The only Stage 7 hospital in Europe is located in Germany.

An important achievement also for national systems

The achievement of Itä-Savo Hospital District is significant also for the development of the national IT systems in social welfare and health care.

”Development of uniform models and standards pays off,” says Development Manager Maritta Korhonen from the Unit for the Operational Management of Health and Welfare Information at THL. ”Itä-Savo is not only developing its own IT systems, it is also the national forerunner in the field, as it can develop both IT systems and operations in a balanced way,” Korhonen emphasises.

”The model is also used in the implementation of national IT systems in health care. The ongoing testing of the eArchive in Itä-Savo will promote the more comprehensive uniform implementation of the eArchive over system borders,” Korhonen says.

Versatile evaluation points out development objects

The European HIMSS evaluation of Itä-Savo was initiated in August 2010. Representatives of both clinical work and IT management took part in the process. The evaluation covered clinical and nursing documentation and practical models as well as ancillary IT system solutions, among other areas. Of particular interest were the use of electronic patient records and structured data as well as the solutions supporting the patient medication process and clinical decision-making. The medication process must be a closed loop and as automated as possible. Also, the system supporting decision-making must guide the medication process, i.e., alert and notify of drug interactions and contraindications and propose evidence-based clinical guidelines.

”We are drawing nearer to meeting the criteria for the highest level of the HIMSS evaluation as we have already adopted some of the elements required for Stage 7 and plan to introduce the rest in the near future," says Ari Pätsi, Chief Information Officer at Itä-Savo Hospital District.

Source:

HIMSS Analytics Europe

Additional information:

Maritta Korhonen
Development Manager
THL
tel. +358 29 524 7304
firstname.lastname@thl.fi

Ari Pätsi
Chief Information Officer
Itä-Savo hospital district
tel. +358 50 370 6839
firstname.lastname@isshp.fi