Methodist Health System Earns 2021 CHIME Digital Health Most Wired Recognition

The College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) is pleased to announce that Methodist Health System has earned 2021 CHIME Digital Health Most Wired recognitions as a certified Acute Level 7 and Ambulatory Level 7.

The CHIME Digital Health Most Wired program conducts an annual survey to assess how effectively health care organizations apply core and advanced technologies into their clinical and business programs to improve health and care in their communities.

A total of 36,674 organizations were represented in the 2021 Digital Health Most Wired program, which includes four separate surveys: acute, ambulatory, long-term care and international acute. The surveys assessed the adoption, integration and impact of technologies in health care organizations at all stages of development, from early development to industry leading.

“At Methodist, our information technology team is striving to ensure that our digital footprint is meeting the needs of our organization on a daily basis,” said Kent Sona, vice president and chief information officer for Methodist Health System. “The COVID-19 pandemic has forced us to think outside the box, which in turn has led my team to further examine all the ways we can truly have an impact not only on our providers and care teams, but also on our patients.”

Each participating organization received a customized benchmarking report, an overall score and scores for individual levels in eight segments: infrastructure, security, business/disaster recovery, administrative/supply chain, analytics/data management, interoperability/population health, patient engagement and clinical quality/safety. Participants can use the report and scores to identify strengths and opportunities for improvement. Participants also received certification based on their overall performance, with level 10 being the highest.

“Digital transformation in health care has accelerated to an unprecedented level since 2020, and the next few years will bring a wave of innovation that empowers health care consumers and will astound the industry,” said CHIME President and CEO Russell P. Branzell. “The Digital Health Most Wired program recognizes the outstanding digital leaders who have paved the way for this imminent revolution in health care. Their trailblazing commitment to rapid transformation has set an example for the entire industry in how to pursue a leadership vision with determination, brilliant planning and courage to overcome all challenges.”

This is the third year that CHIME has conducted the survey and overseen the program. In each successive year, CHIME has expanded the survey to capture more types of organizations that serve patients across the continuum of care. CHIME also continues to promote the program internationally to provide a global overview of digital health advancements.

As in past years, CHIME will publish an industry trends report based on Digital Health Most Wired responses from U.S. participants. The 2021 National Trends Report is scheduled to be released in October during CHIME21 in San Diego. 

About CHIME

The College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) is an executive organization dedicated to serving chief information officers (CIOs), chief medical information officers (CMIOs), chief nursing information officers (CNIOs), chief innovation officers (CIOs), chief digital officers (CDOs) and other senior healthcare IT leaders. With nearly 3,400 members in 55 countries and over 150 health care IT business partners and professional services firms, CHIME provides a highly interactive, trusted environment enabling senior professional and industry leaders to collaborate, exchange best practices, address professional development needs and advocate the effective use of information management to improve the health and care in the communities they serve. For more information, please visit chimecentral.org.