One of only 15 health systems nationwide to achieve top score
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) has announced that the WVU Health System has received CHIME’s Level 10 Achievement – the highest level of achievement – for both the acute and ambulatory surveys of the Health System’s hospitals, clinics, and physicians. Other Level 10 health systems include the Mayo Clinic, Cedars Sinai, and NYU. 
CHIME’s Digital Health Most Wired Survey recognizes healthcare organizations that have gone above and beyond to exemplify best practices through their adoption, implementation, and use of information technology.
“This recognition validates our strategy of building a highly integrated, patient-centric network of care linked by a common electronic medical record (EMR),” Albert L. Wright, Jr., president and CEO of the WVU Health System, said. “We’ve implemented a common, enterprise wide EMR for two reasons: to ensure that our patients, no matter where they are seen in our network, have peace of mind that their care teams can communicate seamlessly; and to safeguard the continuity of our patients’ care when they are transferred from our community hospitals to our academic medical center for more advanced, specialty and sub-specialty care. A common EMR creates a safer, more efficient, and less expensive environment for our patients.”
Among the more than 38,000 organizations surveyed by CHIME, WVU Medicine ranked above peers in categories like analytics and data management, population health, infrastructure, and patient engagement. The survey assessed the adoption, integration, and impact of technologies in healthcare organizations at all stages of development, from early development to industry leading.
“We are proud to honor your team’s exceptional dedication to excellence in digital health,” Russell P. Branzell, CHIME president and CEO, said. WVU Medicine’s “pioneering performance in the industry inspires other organizations by example. Patients in communities around the world receive better care when you drive change through digital transformation, as you have proven through your success in this rigorous program.”
The Digital Health Most Wired survey and recognition program serves as a comprehensive “Digital Health Check-up” for healthcare organizations across the world. As success in digital health increasingly determines the quality of patient care, the scope of the CHIME Digital Health Most Wired survey reflects the progress of leading healthcare providers as they reinvent healthcare for a new century.
“I am extremely pleased that we have achieved CHIME’s Most Wired Level 10 for both acute and ambulatory,” Jim Venturella, chief information officer for the WVU Health System, said. “This is an amazing accomplishment by itself and even more impressive considering the other major IT projects occurring at WVU Medicine. Our IT team continues to deliver incredible value for our organization, and it is nice to receive this important validation and recognition of their accomplishments.”
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 more than 5,000 members in 58 countries plus two U.S. territories and over 190 healthcare IT business partners and professional services firms, CHIME and its three associations provide 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.