UCLA health system said among country\'s \'most wired\'

UCLA has announced its health system and its hospitals have been named among the nation\'s \"most wired\" in recognition of their use of information technology. The annual Health Care\'s Most Wired Survey, sponsored by Hospitals and Health Networks magazine, measures a hospital\'s level of adoption of information technology in their health-care delivery systems, a UCLA release said Wednesday. The university\'s award was based on a comprehensive assessment that examined its overall IT infrastructure and its use of IT and electronic processes (versus paper) for business and administrative purposes, clinical quality and safety, and clinical integration, the release said. The Most Wired Survey, conducted between Jan. 15 and March 15, looked at 1,713 hospitals, or roughly 30 percent of all hospitals in the United States. \"This award is the result of hard work by many dedicated staff and clinicians and expresses our core belief that quality information leads to improved patient care,\" said Virginia McFerran, chief information officer for the UCLA Health System.