Robert Wood Johnson Health System Hospitals Named Among 2015 "Most Wired" by Hospitals & Health Networks Magazine

Robert Wood Johnson (RWJ) Health System announced that three member hospitals have once again been named among the “Most Wired” organizations of 2015 by Hospitals & Health Networks Magazine. The annual Most Wired survey is designed to measure the level of information technology (IT) adoption in U.S. hospitals and health systems, and is a useful tool for hospital and health system leadership to map their IT strategic plans. RWJ’s New Brunswick and Somerville campuses and Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Hamilton earned spots on the prestigious list.

As one of the nation’s “Most Wired” health care providers, RWJ is leveraging the adoption and use of health IT to improve performance in a number of areas, including operational, financial and clinical performance, according to Health Care’s Most Wired 2015 survey. This includes adopting technologies to improve patient documentation, advance clinical decision support and evidence-based protocols, reduce the likelihood of medication errors, and rapidly restore access to data in the case of a disaster or outage.

“RWJ remains at the forefront of health care by staying connected with our patients and other providers, which helps us provide the highest quality care to Central New Jersey residents,” said Stephen K. Jones, FACHE, President and CEO of Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital and Robert Wood Johnson Health System. “We continue to invest in systems and technology that allow us to consistently deliver comprehensive care and give us the ability to improve patient outcomes while preparing us for future health information technology advances. Our use of Jersey Health Connect and our social media platforms to provide important health notifications, information, screenings and other programs has helped us extend the care and services we provide beyond hospital walls into the diverse communities we serve.”

RWJ Health System is a founding member of the largest health information exchange, Jersey Health Connect (JHC), in the state of New Jersey. This health information exchange allows member hospitals to share clinical information with providers and patients across the continuum of care. JHC allows patients to get their test results and manage their healthcare easier than ever, reducing barriers to collaboration among health care providers while improving care efficiency. The system allows patients to have their own secure patient portal that gives them 24-hour access to personal health information including their recent doctor visits, medications, immunizations, allergies, lab results, discharge summaries and more. Health Connect also allows patients to exchange secure e-mail messages with their health care teams, request prescription refills, schedule appointments, check benefits and coverage, make payments, download and complete forms and view educational materials.

At all three hospitals, patients have the opportunity to enroll in RWJ Health Connect. RWJ Health Connect’s interoperability ultimately makes it easier for patients who need to be transferred to a different hospital or physician network without the hassle of manually moving electronic medical records from one system to the next. To date, more than 22,000 local residents are taking advantage of this technology and utilizing RWJ Health Connect.

The “Most Wired” survey is an in-depth survey that looked at overall technology infrastructure at health systems throughout the country, including items such as security tools, to be sure that the day-to-day basic needs of their facilities are being met. The survey also included detailed information about how integrated an organization’s systems are and whether they can accommodate the increasing demand for electronic health information sharing.