Newswise — Nationwide Children’s Hospital was named one of the most wired hospitals in the country in Hospitals and Health Network’s 2013 Most Wired list. This prestigious list includes more than 250 hospitals around the country who have proven to be leaders in healthcare information technology. Nationwide Children’s was one of only thirteen children’s hospitals in the country to earn a spot on this list.

Nationwide Children’s IT staff supports quality and safety through the Zero Hero initiative, which includes a tracking system to measure and analyze patient care complications, seeking to increase patient safety. Earlier this year, they were the first hospital in Central Ohio to join the new statewide health information exchange that will allow sharing of patient health information among medical professionals across the state.

This annual survey gauges how organizations are planning for, utilizing and securing information technology across the entire enterprise, serving as a roadmap for how hospitals are using IT to transform their organizations. There are four focus areas that hospitals are rated on: infrastructure; business and administrative management; clinical quality and safety; and clinical integration.

“We are honored to be recognized two consecutive years among leaders in the healthcare IT,” said Denise Zabawski, chief information officer at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. “From the technological advances of our new hospital which opened in 2012, to the ways our IT staff supports quality, safety initiatives and improves efficiency, I am proud of how we improve patient care.”

The 2013 Most Wired Survey was made possible by the generous support of The American Hospital Association, H&HN, CHIME, AT&T, McKesson and CareTech Solutions.