VA Health Care Facilities Named To 2013 “Most Wired” Hospitals List

The Department of Veterans Affairs, representing 152 VA medical centers, was recently named to the 2013 “Most Wired” hospitals list. The list, which is released by Hospitals & Health Networks, in partnership with McKesson, the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) and the American Hospital Association (AHA), is the result of a national survey aimed at ranking hospitals that are leveraging health information technology (HIT) in new and innovative ways. 

“At VA, we are committed to expanding access to high quality care for our Nation’s Veterans,” said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki.  “As the nation's largest health network, VA is continuously working to improve and enhance our understanding of which technologies best meet the needs of our Veteran patients.”

Over the past year, VA has provided Veterans and VA health care teams with 21st century health care through the use of new and innovative technology.  Some examples are:

• telehealth being used in Veterans homes as an adjunct to traditional face-to-face care;
• recent VA Blue Button enhancements that allow improved access to critical patient medical information;
• deployment of asset tracking devices;
• the use of technology to better link specialty care providers to primary care physicians in rural areas.

The survey, which was conducted between Jan. 15, 2013 and March 15, 2013, polled 1,713 hospitals and health systems nationwide to answer questions regarding their information technology (IT) initiatives.  Overall, roughly 30 percent of all U.S. hospitals were surveyed.

“VA is honored to have its integrated health care system on the ‘Most Wired’ hospitals list for the first time ever,” said Dr. Robert Petzel, Undersecretary for Health in the Department of Veterans Affairs. “VA is dedicated to providing Veteran patients with the best experience possible.  Integrating health IT into our everyday processes throughout our vast health care system has helped us to accomplish that goal. This recognition and this year’s 10th anniversary of the introduction of VA’s Personal Health Record, My HealtheVet, indicate we’ve made great strides in accomplishing our goals, and we’re eager to build on this progress.”

With this designation, for the first time, all VA medical centers nationwide were named to the 2013 “Most Wired” list.  The location of VA medical centers can be found here: http://www.va.gov/directory/guide/home.asp.

The full list of 2013’s “Most Wired” hospitals and the entire report can be found in the July H&HN cover story detailing results, available at           www.hhnmag.com.

For more information, contact VA Media Relations or visit www.va.gov.