Pushing the Paper Envelope

One of the country's most technologically advanced hospitals is outsourcing part of its health IT function to a technology-support consultancy.

Accenture, the world's largest consulting firm, has announced a seven-year contract with Stanford Hospital & Clinics that seeks "to improve patient care and operational efficiency." A goal of the "connected health technology initiative" is refinement of the system's patient care platform.

"Our goal is to utilize technology to benefit patients while assuring that we have the most advanced capabilities and a cost-effective solution for managing operations," said Carolyn Byerly, the hospital's chief information officer.

Accenture's "virtualization offering" will be at the center of the Palo Alto-based hospital's new technology infrastructure, which will "enhance clinical processes and deploy new capabilities. New features include business intelligence, heath analytic tools and patient-centered technology. Accenture will manage some operational and administrative functions, such as data centers, networks, help desks and device supports.

"Few hospitals have reached Stanford's technology sophistication and application of IT to patient care," said Mark Knickrehm, global managing director of Accenture's health industry practice.

Indeed, the American Hospital Association's flagships publication, Hospitals and Health Networks, this summer named Stanford Hospitals & Clinics one of the "most wired hospitals and health systems" for 2010. The designation, attained by 7.7 percent of hospitals that took part in the HHN survey, recognizes hospitals that maximize technology in daily operations.

Earlier this year, the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) designated the hospital's electronic medical records a "Stage 7" system. Of more than 5,000 organizations in the MIMSS database, only six have attained the top designation.