<0> for Huntington Memorial HospitalRoss Goldberg, 818-597-8453, x-1 </0>
Rebecca Armato of told a national gathering of healthcare leaders recently that optimizing healthcare communication and sharing information securely among relevant providers is the key to improving quality care, enhancing customer service and lowering healthcare costs. Armato, executive director of physician and interoperability services at Huntington Hospital, made her remarks before the World Healthcare Innovation and Technology Congress’ annual meeting in Washington, D.C.
“Investing in an advanced, secure method of care collaboration through information technology is vital to ensuring the delivery of cost-effective, high-quality care now and for future generations,” said Armato. “Connecting both the hospital-based and office-based environments so that all providers can share meaningfully data is increasingly vital in every community in America if we are to achieve our national goals of better care, increased efficiencies, less waste and lower cost in our healthcare system.”
In her presentation – “Creating a Connected Collaborative Community of Health” – Armato discussed not only Huntington Hospital’s efforts to remain compliant with federal health mandates but also outlined the regional healthcare organizations’ efforts to optimize systems and processes in a way that will improve quality and cut costs. Currently, the hospital is in the process of developing a health information exchange (HIE) that will enable physicians, hospitals and other healthcare providers across the San Gabriel Valley to connect and collaborate in a team approach to patient care, regardless of where they are located or which clinical technologies they use.
When fully operational, Huntington’s Health eConnect will allow healthcare organizations and physicians to securely and confidentially view and share clinical information across the full continuum of care. The infrastructure will support data from multiple sources in a variety of formats and will harmonize the data into a uniform, usable structure so it can be displayed or shared with other electronic health records, personal health records and decision-support systems across the community.
Armato, a commissioner on the board of the Certification Commission for Health Information Technology, was part of a faculty of distinguished thought leaders who addressed the Congress, which convened to share post-election insights on the future of healthcare. Joining Armato as speakers were former Senator Majority Leader William Frist, M.D., as well as leaders from the Mayo Clinic, Johns Hopkins, Cleveland Clinic, Ascension Health and the United States Department of Health and Human Services. The World Healthcare Innovation and Technology Congress annually draw hundreds of senior healthcare executives to share the latest technologies and innovations accelerating the adoption, implementation and sustainability of tomorrow’s healthcare infrastructure.
Huntington Memorial Hospital is a 625-bed not-for-profit hospital that is home to the only Level II Trauma Center in the San Gabriel Valley. In addition to being granted Magnet designation in 2011, Huntington Hospital has been ranked nationally by in two specialties and was named the 8 best hospital in California. Renowned for its programs in neurosciences, cardiovascular services and cancer care, Huntington Hospital is an active teaching hospital with graduate medical education programs in internal medicine and general surgery. Consistent with its mission the hospital provides millions of dollars annually in charity care, benefits for vulnerable populations, health research, education and training, and support programs that may otherwise be absent from the community. For more information, go to .