WVU Health System earns 2020 CHIME Digital Health Most Wired recognition

ANN ARBOR, MICH. – The College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) is pleased to announce that the West Virginia University Health System has earned 2020 CHIME Digital Health Most Wired recognition as a certified level 9 for its acute and ambulatory operations. The CHIME Digital Health Most Wired program conducts an annual survey to assess how effectively healthcare organizations apply core and advanced technologies into their clinical and business programs to improve health and care in their communities. 

Stock image of keyboard, tablet, and stethoscope“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.”    

“As our System continues to grow, our information technology professionals have worked diligently to ensure that all of our patients and providers have the best technology available,” Jim Venturella, WVU Health System vice president and chief information officer, said. “This recognition is a testament to their hard work and dedication to our mission.”

A total of 30,135 organizations were represented in the 2020 Digital Health Most Wired program, which this year included four separate surveys: domestic, ambulatory, long-term care, and international. The surveys assessed the adoption, integration, and impact of technologies in healthcare organizations at all stages of development, from early development to industry leading. 

Each participating organization received a customized benchmarking report, an overall score and scores for individual levels in eight segments: infrastructure; security; business/disaster recovery; administrative/supply chain; analytics/data management; interoperability/population health; patient engagement; and clinical quality/safety. Participants can use the report and scores to identify strengths and opportunities for improvement. Participants also received certification based on their overall performance, with level 10 being the highest. 

This is the third year that CHIME has conducted the survey and overseen the program. In each successive year, CHIME has expanded the survey to capture more types of organizations that serve patients across the continuum of care. CHIME also continues to promote the program internationally to provide a global overview of digital health advancements. 

As in past years, CHIME will publish an industry trends report based on Digital Health Most Wired responses from U.S. participants. The 2020 National Trends Report is scheduled to be released in November during CHIME20 Digital.  

For more information about the CHIME Digital Health Most Wired program, please go here

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), chief innovation officers (CIOs), chief digital officers (CDOs), and other senior healthcare IT leaders. With nearly 3,400 members in 55 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 care in the communities they serve. For more information, please visit chimecentral.org.

About the West Virginia University Health System 
The West Virginia University Health System, West Virginia’s largest health system and largest private employer, is comprised of 12 hospitals – its flagship hospital, J.W. Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown and Fairmont Medical Center in Fairmont; Berkeley Medical Center in Martinsburg; Braxton County Memorial Hospital in Gassaway; Camden Clark Medical Center in Parkersburg; Jackson General Hospital in Ripley; Jefferson Medical Center in Ranson; Potomac Valley Hospital in Keyser; Reynolds Memorial Hospital in Glen Dale; St. Joseph’s Hospital in Buckhannon; Summersville Regional Medical Center in Summersville; United Hospital Center in Bridgeport; and Wetzel County Hospital in New Martinsville. It also provides management services to Barnesville Hospital in Barnesville, Ohio; Garrett Regional Medical Center in Oakland, Maryland; Harrison Community Hospital in Cadiz, Ohio; Highland-Clarksburg Hospital in Clarksburg; Uniontown Hospital in Uniontown, Pennsylvania; and Wheeling Hospital in Wheeling. The WVU Health System also includes five institutes – the WVU Cancer Institute, the WVU Critical Care and Trauma Institute, the WVU Eye Institute, the WVU Heart and Vascular Institute, and the WVU Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute. For more information, visit WVUMedicine.org.  

For Media Inquries:

Candace Stuart, CHIME Director of Communications and Public Relations, 734-665-0000, cstuart@chimecentral.org 
Angela Jones-Knopf, WVU Health System Corporate Director of Media Relations and Public Affairs, 304-285-7259, knopfa@wvumedicine.org