Atlantic General Hospital and Health System Achieves Level 8 Most Wired Distinction for 2024

Atlantic General Hospital and Health System (AGH) has achieved Level 8 Most Wired distinction for both acute and ambulatory care for 2024, after analysis of the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives’ (CHIME) Digital Health Most Wired Survey for the 2024 data collection period.

Among the almost 48,000 facilities represented, AGH ranked above peers in critical categories such as analytics and data management, population health, infrastructure, and patient engagement. The survey evaluates the adoption, integration, and impact of technologies across health care organizations, from early-stage adopters to industry leaders.

System interoperability and reliable data sharing that is secure and efficient are among the IT priorities at AGH.

Most recently, a multidisciplinary team stood up integrated diagnostic order entry within the electronic medical record (EMR) shared by the hospital and the health system’s network of primary care providers and specialists for laboratory and x-ray services. By the end of this week, when a patient of the health system walks into one of AGH’s imaging or lab facilities, the staff will be able to immediately pull up the order for the test the patient’s provider requested in the EMR. Over the coming months orders for surgical procedures will be integrated, which will help shorten the scheduling process.

Additionally, AGH has invested in a new Pure storage area network (SAN), which will improve the performance of complex software applications and increase the speed of access to data, bringing the information clinicians need to their fingertips even more quickly. Plus, the SAN’s built in data protection features will further strengthen the organization’s data security and disaster recovery capabilities.

“Achieving Most Wired distinction is a collaborative effort,” said Jonathan Bauer, vice president of information services at AGH. “Receiving this annual award for the eighth time points to a sustained organization-wide prioritization of digital health excellence, and I couldn’t be more proud.”

In the face of escalating challenges like increasing cybersecurity threats, evolving care models, staffing shortages, and budget constraints, the urgency for revolutionizing health care through technology continues to grow. The next 30 years will bring profound changes, driven by emerging technologies. We anticipate that advancements in digital health—facilitated by fully interoperable data, artificial intelligence, and secure platforms—will significantly transform the landscape of care. A strategic roadmap will be essential to navigate these changes.

“To aid future planning, we have designed the Digital Health Most Wired program to provide insights into best practices, HIT adoption patterns, and digital health market trends,” CHIME President and CEO Russ Branzell said.

The Digital Health Most Wired survey and recognition program serves as a comprehensive digital health check-up for health care organizations globally. As success in digital health increasingly influences patient care quality, the CHIME Digital Health Most Wired survey reflects the progress of leading health care providers as they reshape health care for the future. This achievement extends beyond information technology, symbolizing a collective organizational commitment to enhancing health care through advanced digital health strategies.