Sentara Ranked among InformationWeek 500 

Sentara eCare® recognized as innovative business practice

NORFOLK, Virginia - September 15, 2009 - Sentara Healthcare has been ranked 21st on the 2009 InformationWeek 500 revealed this week as part of the exclusive InformationWeek 500 Conference in Dana Point, Calif.

“Technology plays an increasingly important role in the delivery and improvement of patient care,” says Sentara Vice President and Chief Information Officer Bert Reese. “We have been steadily working in recent years to implement a comprehensive electronic medical record system, Sentara eCare®, and our early results have been so encouraging.”

Sentara began its hospital implementation of Sentara eCare in 2008. In addition, it has been implementing Sentara eCare electronic medical record technology across its network of Sentara Medical Group physicians. Full implementation is expected to be complete in 2010. In its hospital settings, Sentara is already experiencing physician order entry rates that exceed the national average. In addition, the length of time from drugs being ordered by a physician to administration to the patient has reduced dramatically – from an average of 132 minutes to about 35.

“For over 20 years, the InformationWeek 500 has honored the most innovative users of business technology,” said InformationWeek Editor-in-Chief Rob Preston. “Year after year, InformationWeek 500 companies harness technology to improve efficiency, boost productivity, drive revenue, and establish a competitive advantage. We applaud this year’s winners, and the CIOs and other executives whose ingenuity and risk taking are at the center of business technology innovation.”

InformationWeek identifies and honors the nation’s most innovative users of information technology with its annual 500 listing, now in its 21st year, and also tracks the technology, strategies, investments and administrative practices of America’s best-known companies. The InformationWeek 500 rankings are unique among corporate rankings as it spotlights the power of innovation in information technology, rather than simply identifying the biggest IT spenders.

Additional details on the InformationWeek 500 can be found online on the Information Week web site. 

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