Hospitals Recognized as Nation's 100 Most Wired.

INHS information technology network streamlines physician access to information

SPOKANE, Wash., July 18 /PRNewswire/ -- Connecting physicians and patients through wired and wireless networks earned ten regional hospitals the distinction of being among the most technologically advanced hospitals in the country, according to Hospital and Health Networks, the journal of the American Hospital Association.

Deaconess Medical Center, Holy Family Hospital, Sacred Heart Medical Center, St. Luke's Rehabilitation Institute and Valley Hospital and Medical Center in Spokane, WA and Kootenai Medical Center in Coeur d'Alene, ID were distinguished as being among the most technologically superior health care institutions in the nation. Hospital and Health Networks surveyed more than 1,200 hospitals to name the "100 Most Wired" hospitals in the 2007 Most Wired Survey and Benchmarking Study.

Hospitals receiving "The Most Wired - Small and Rural" awards include Enumclaw Regional Hospital in Enumclaw, WA; Othello Community Hospital in Othello, WA; Pullman Regional Hospital in Pullman, WA; and St. Luke's Magic Valley Regional Medical Center in Twin Falls, ID. Mid-Valley Hospital in Omak, WA received "Most Improved" designation. Kootenai Medical Center was also designated as one of the "Most Wireless" hospitals.

These "most-wired and wireless" hospitals are connected by Inland Northwest Health Services (INHS) as part of a 38-hospital health information technology network, which allows physicians streamlined access to patient information utilizing wired and wireless technology.

"It's about creating the safest hospitals in the nation," said Tom Fritz, chief executive officer of INHS. "These innovative solutions combined with ...