From automated lab orders for patients with adrenal insufficiencies, to bedside barcodes that ensure the right child gets the right dosage of the right medication at the right time, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles continues to make strides towards advanced implementation of electronic medical records (EMR). This week, CHLA received recognition for its ongoing EMR deployment when it was certified a Stage 6 hospital on the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) EMR Adoption Model, a global benchmark measuring how far and how well health care institutions are utilizing digital record keeping tools.

“Our patients are safer as a result of Children’s Hospital Los Angeles’ commitment to technology”

“Our patients are safer as a result of Children’s Hospital Los Angeles’ commitment to technology,” says CHLA Vice President and Chief Information Officer T.J. Malseed. “This distinction by HIMSS attests to 11 years of technological advances CHLA has made and continues to make to protect and improve the health of our infants, children and teens.”

The award means CHLA now ranks among the top health care organizations nationally for using EMR to create a computerized safety net for patients. Less than 30 percent of hospitals in the U.S. have achieved Stage 6 or higher, and only about 60 of these are pediatric care facilities, according to HIMSS.

In addition to digitally tracking physicians’ orders, nurses' clinical notes and managing medications, CHLA also actively monitors changes in each record – for example, if a patient is flagged with an asthma diagnosis, the doctor is automatically informed of a need for an asthma treatment plan.

HIMSS, a nonprofit organization recognized as a global thought leader on transforming health care through information technology, developed an eight-stage model in 2005 to help hospitals chart a course to full EMR adoption. At Stage 0, no electronic medical records systems exist in an institution. At the most advanced level, Stage 7, all documentation is electronic; paper charts are no longer used.

Electronic medical records are now being used across the emergency department, inpatient units, and hospital-based outpatient clinics at CHLA as well as the satellite outpatient centers run by the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles Medical Group in Arcadia, Encino, Santa Monica, South Bay, and Valencia. This technology helps physicians and clinical staff communicate effectively between the hospital’s various medical divisions in both inpatient and outpatient settings.

CHLA will be honored at the HIMSS16 conference in February 2016 for achieving this milestone, and also is now listed on the HIMMS Analytics website as one of the hospitals leading the charge in using technology to improve patient safety and quality of care.