Novant Health ranks seventh among the Top 100 integrated healthcare networks in the United States, according to Verispan, a research firm that evaluates healthcare systems. The tenth annual survey was recently released in the national publication, Modern Healthcare, this week. Novant ranked eighth last year and is now the highest nationally ranked health system in North Carolina.
“We continue to work together with our physicians and staff to improve the healthcare experience for our patients and their families,” explained Novant Health President Paul Wiles. “That should be the benefit of being ‘integrated.’ Our staff, facilities and technologies should be coordinated in a manner that provides remarkable medicine. That involves the patient registration process, the communication between the patient, nurse and physician, the actual outcome of a patient’s surgery and treatment, proper hand hygiene and every interaction that comprises an individual’s medical care.”
Verispan evaluates health systems based on the level of integration in eight categories: integration; integrated technology; contractual capabilities; outpatient utilization; financial stability; services and access; hospital utilization; and physicians.
Novant Health is a not-for-profit health system consisting of eight hospitals in North Carolina’s Charlotte, Triad and southeastern regions: Presbyterian Hospital, Presbyterian Orthopaedic Hospital, Presbyterian Hospital Huntersville and Presbyterian Hospital Matthews of the Charlotte area; Forsyth Medical Center, Medical Park Hospital and Thomasville Medical Center in the Triad region; and Brunswick Community Hospital along the coast. Other facilities and programs of Novant Health include the Novant Medical Group comprised of 670 physicians and 152 clinic locations, outpatient surgery and diagnostic centers, two nursing homes and senior residential facilities, rehabilitation programs and community health outreach programs.
Wiles mentioned that Novant is undertaking one of its most challenging initiatives in 2007 designed to improve the coordination and integration of healthcare services. The health system’s 152 physician clinics will begin the implementation of an electronic patient medical record. The project will take approximately three years and eliminate the traditional paper charts and record-keeping system.
The Verispan national scorecard and ranking process for health systems began in 1997 and has become a high-profile program for calling attention to organizations that are effectively leveraging the advantages of integrating services and sharing resources. www.verispan.com