The University of Alabama at Birmingham Health System has been named to the 2014 “Health Care’s Most Wired Hospitals and Health Systems” list by Hospitals and Health Networks, the journal of the American Hospital Association.

The UAB Health System is one of 375 institutions which met the most wired criteria. More than 1,900 hospitals, or roughly 33 percent of all U.S. hospitals, were surveyed by HHN.

Hospitals are surveyed on use of Internet technologies in four core areas: infrastructure, business and administrative management, clinical quality and safety, and clinical integration. Hospitals must meet standards in all four areas to achieve the most wired designation.

In comparing hospitals and health systems across the country, HHN found that the most wired hospitals:

• Use computers to enable physicians to check or order patient tests
• Enter medications orders electronically
• Enable patients to perform billing functions via computer
• Conduct more pre- and post-implementation evaluations of IT projects
• Maintain a larger proportion of their medical records in a paperless format
• Provide digital imaging to more clinical disciplines in a wider range of settings
• Have interoperability of applications
• Deploy more IT educational resources for staff

“Being recognized as one of the ‘Most Wired,’ by HHN reflects our strong commitment to information technology as a strategic imperative,” said Joan C. Hicks, UABHS chief information officer. “It is also indicative of our continuing efforts to improve patient care at UAB Health System.”

At UABHS, physicians are able to manage a number of clinical functions online, including checking laboratory and imaging results, reviewing clinical notes from other health care providers, and entering patient care notes and medication orders.

UAB provides health information directly to the public through its Health System website, www.uabmedicine.org, and the main UAB website, www.uab.edu. It also offers information for referring physicians via www.uabhealth.org/4docs.