By Duke Medicine News and Communications

What does the "Most Wired" award mean to you? Read a U.S.News & World Report article on the benefits to patients »

DURHAM, N.C. -- Duke University Health System (DUHS) has been named one of the 100 Most Wired hospitals and health systems in the country, according to Hospitals & Health Networks magazine.

The winners of the 2005 Most Wired award were chosen upon review of 502 surveys, representing 1,255 hospitals across the country. Results from the survey were used to measure the nation's hospitals on their use of information technology in five areas: quality, customer service, public health and safety, business processes and workforce issues.

"There are three key differences in how hospitals apply and use information technology to improve care," said Alden Solovy, executive editor of Hospitals & Health Networks, the journal of the American Hospital Association (AHA). "The Most Wired use a wider array of IT tools to address quality and safety, they have a significantly larger percentage of physicians who enter orders themselves and they conduct a larger percentage of clinical activities via information technology."

Duke has been investing in and integrating a large amount of clinical technology into the health system, especially over the last two years, said Asif Ahmad, vice president and chief information officer of Duke Health Technology Solutions. "It's an honor to be recognized among the best of the best for the use of technology to provide better care and to integrate our hospitals into a better system."

Along with the list of the 2005 Most Wired winners, Hospital & Health Networks released the results of an analysis showing that those hospitals and health systems that have made a substantial investment in health information technology have lower mortality rates than other hospitals.

"It's not a random observation, even if it is not necessarily cause and effect," said Kaveh Safavi, MD, chief medical officer of healthcare information firm Solucient, which conducted the mortality analysis.

"We have long believed that a commitment to using the latest innovations in information technology can help us run a more efficient operation and provide better quality care to our patients," said Ahmad.

The 2005 Most Wired winners will be honored at the AHA's annual Health Forum and Leadership Summit, July 28-30, in San Diego.