Geisinger Health System receives prestigious IT award

Nov. 19, 2008, DANVILLE – Geisinger Health System was recently named to the 2008 InformationWeek 500 list of the nation’s most innovative users of information technology. The recognition further highlights Geisinger’s commitment to using computer records to benefit patients.

The list, which has been published annually for the last 20 years, is unique among corporate rankings because it spotlights the power of innovation in information technology. Geisinger has appeared on the list five times.

“We are honored to receive this recognition,” said Geisinger CEO and President Glenn Steele Jr., MD, PhD. “With an investment of more than $90 million in our electronic health record (EHR), Geisinger is one of the most digitally advanced healthcare providers in the nation.”

Geisinger has used information technology to improve healthcare quality, remove geographic barriers between physicians across the health system and empower patients, Dr. Steele said.

Specifically, the technology is used to improve patient-clinician interaction through such programs as the Internet patient portal, MyGeisinger, which allows patients to e-mail their doctors. MyGeisinger also gives patients access to their medical record and enables them to renew prescriptions, view lab test results and seek advice for non-urgent medical problems

By storing large amounts of data, the EHR also gives clinicians real-time access to important patient information and helps fuel Geisinger research into health problems such as diabetes, obesity and heart disease.
 
The 2008 InformationWeek 500 honorees were revealed at a ceremony held recently at the InformationWeek 500 Conference in Monarch Beach, California.

“For 20 years, the InformationWeek 500 has honored the most innovative users of business technology,” said InformationWeek Editor-in-Chief Rob Preston. “We applaud this year’s winners, and the CIOs and other executives whose ingenuity and risk taking are at the center of business technology innovation.”

This is the latest in a series of awards to Geisinger for the system’s technological achievements and innovation. Geisinger was named one of the “100 Most Wired Hospitals and Health Systems” by Hospitals & Health Networks magazine earlier this year and has previously appeared on the Verispan Integrated Health Networks Top 100 list for being among the nation’s top integrated health networks.

PODCAST AVAILABLE: Listen to Geisinger Chief Information Officer Frank Richards talk about  the importance of information technology in healthcare.

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