Generic selectors
Exact matches only
Search in title
Search in content
Post Type Selectors
Menu image

Holyoke Medical Center Receives Award for Innovative Use of Technology

New program reduced Emergency Department visits by Behavioral Health Patients by 25%
Apr 27, 2019

Aug 9, 2017HOLYOKE, MA – August 9, 2017 — Holyoke Medical Center (HMC) will receive the prestigious 2017 CIO 100 Award next week, for a project that has reduced Emergency Department visits by behavioral health patients by 25 percent, while providing real time treatment, care navigation and referral for follow-up, utilizing advanced technology.
HMC is one of 100 organizations being recognized for their innovative use of technology to drive business value by CIO, an executive-level tech media brand providing insight into business technology leadership.

HMC will be celebrated along with other award recipients during a gala awards dinner and ceremony at the CIO 100 Symposium Aug. 14-16, 2017 at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, CO.

HMC launched this project in December of 2015, using QPID Health Software Technology in collaboration with their electronic medical records system, Meditech, to help identify, screen, assess, track and appropriately navigate medical patients who presented with a secondary behavioral health diagnosis in the Emergency Department (ED). 

“The specific goal was to reduce 30-day ED revisits for patients with a primary or secondary behavioral health diagnosis by 25 percent by the end of a 24-month period,” said HMC Chief Operating Officer and Chief Information Officer Carl Cameron. “We achieved the goal within the first 12 months of the program. The defined target was 7,500 ED behavioral health visits per year; the system allowed us to identify 12,000 ED behavioral health visits in year one alone.”

The QPID software builds upon HMC’s existing electronic health records system by its ability to locate and synthesize critical patient facts from electronic health records, for timely identification of behavioral health patients at risk for revolving emergency visits and readmissions, said Cameron.

The project involved training of registered nurses, patient navigators, providers and peer counselors focused on the development of individualized care plans designed to initiate the best level of treatment, targeted interventions, and to reduce recidivism.

The QPID software enabled providers to track patients in real time, thus enhancing the behavioral health screening process; quickly collect and assemble actionable information from both structured and unstructured data and notify providers in real time, to ensure face-to-face contact in the ED and 48-hour follow up to discharged patients, said Cameron.

“We are thrilled with these results. This project has helped us reduce unnecessary admissions, reduce strain on the emergency transport system, and drive system transformation for both our health system and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts as a whole,” he said.

CIO selected awardees through a three-step process. First, companies filled out an online application form detailing their innovative IT and business initiatives. Next, a team of external judges (many of them former CIOs) reviewed the applications in depth, looking for leading-edge IT practices and measurable results. Finally, CIO editors reviewed the judges’ recommendations and selected the final 100.

“Innovation and business value are at the core of our CIO 100 awards, and today’s IT organizations are delivering an astonishing array of digital capabilities to their companies and customers,” said Maryfran Johnson, editor in chief, CIO events. “This year’s winners are inspiring examples of how IT leadership, business collaboration and customer focus are shaping the future.”

Coverage of the 2017 CIO 100 Awards will be available online in the July/August 2017 digital issue of CIO. Additionally, CIO.com will feature a sortable database of all 100 winners along with descriptions of their projects.   About Holyoke Medical Center:
Holyoke Medical Center (HMC) is a 198-bed independent community hospital with over 1,300 employees serving individuals and families throughout the cities and towns of the Pioneer Valley. The medical staff includes more than 300 physicians and consulting staff. Holyoke Medical Center is a nationally-accredited hospital and received a 2016 Top Hospital Award from the Leapfrog Group for excellence in quality of care and patient safety. This full-service hospital provides a complete line of inpatient and outpatient medical and surgical services, including an award-winning birthing center with the only Baby Friendly designation status in the region. Holyoke Medical Center’s award-winning Stroke Service has been consistently recognized as one of the best in the state for the past eight years and has received the 2017 Get with the Guidelines Stroke Gold Plus Achievement Honor Roll Elite Plus Award from the American Stroke Association. Holyoke Medical Center is a member of Valley Health Systems in Holyoke which also includes the affiliates Holyoke Visiting Nurse Association & Hospice Life Care, Western Mass Physician Associates and River Valley Counseling Center.

About CIO
CIO from IDG is the premier content and community resource for information technology executives and leaders thriving and prospering in this fast-paced era of IT transformation in the enterprise. The award-winning CIO portfolio-CIO.com, CIO executive programs, CIO Strategic Marketing Services, CIO Forum on LinkedIn, CIO Executive Council and CIO primary research-provides business technology leaders with analysis and insight on information technology trends and a keen understanding of IT’s role in achieving business goals.

KIDNEY ASSOCIATES TO OPEN AT HOLYOKE MEDICAL CENTER

...

NEW FARMERS’ MARKET TO OPEN AT HOLYOKE MEDICAL CENTER ON WEDNESDAYS

...

HMC WEIGHT MANAGEMENT PROGRAM NOW OFFERS GASTRIC BALLOON

...