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UVA Health has received a national “Most Wired” award for how the health system uses technology to support high-quality patient care.

The award is based on a national survey from the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives that evaluates the adoption, maturity, outcomes, and value of technology across healthcare organizations. On a scale of 1-10, UVA Health was rated a 9 in both inpatient and outpatient care, outpacing peer organizations in areas that include analytics and data management, cybersecurity, population health, infrastructure, patient engagement, and innovation. 

“I’m incredibly proud of our Health IT team and UVA Health for this recognition. It celebrates the hard work, commitment and collaboration that happen every day behind the scenes to keep our organization running reliably,” said Sonney Sapra, MBA, UVA Health’s Chief Information Officer. “This is a tremendous accomplishment for our team and an exciting reflection of where UVA Health is headed in our ongoing digital transformation journey.” 

This award reinforces the information technology team’s focus on strengthening the health system’s technology foundation, said Kate Bakich, UVA Health’s Deputy Chief Information Officer for health IT and interim Chief Applications Officer. Recent examples include UVA Health’s enterprise data platform called Analytics, Research, and Innovation in Secure Environments (ARISE), which gives research, clinical, and operational teams better access to trusted data to support more informed decision-making. The team is also advancing its Smart Subtraction initiative, a systemwide effort to invest in strategic technology partners, reduce technical debt and simplify the technology environment. That reliable infrastructure — combined with strong working relationships with care teams — helps UVA Health innovate and responsibly adopt new capabilities, including artificial intelligence, across the health system. 

“Our partnership with operations is critical to our success. Technology and operations must work side-by-side, making timely decisions, solving problems together and sharing accountability for outcomes,” Bakich said. “This award is an important recognition of that partnership, but more importantly, it represents the basis for what we can accomplish together going forward.”