Chief Operating Officer Bertine McKenna, Ph.D., said, "The EMR is changing the face of the health care industry. This award recognizes Bassett for pioneering the use of innovative technologies to bring valuable EMR capabilities to health care professionals across our organization. The electronic medical record that many other institutions have as a vision for the future is a reality at Bassett today and a model for others to follow."

"In this competition for Laureate status, the biggest thing this award is after is not just the use of technology, but the use of technology to benefit society, and that's where we stood above the crowd," said Vice President for Information Services and Chief Information Officer Kenneth Deans. "To be in the company of Laureates that have come before us is inspiring to say the least, given the level of accomplishment they have enjoyed."

As a Laureate, Bassett's case study "Advanced Information Infrastructure for Electronic Medical Records" will become part of the Computerworld Honors Program global archives. As such, the case study will be available to researchers, students, and scholars through the Web site www.cwhonors.org, as well as in national archives at over 350 universities, museums and research institutions around the world.

"The advanced information infrastructure that supports the EMR has had a direct impact on patient care," noted Bassett's Director of Informatics, Dr. Henry Weil. "It has allowed virtually instant access to critical medical information by care providers regardless of where they are physically located in Bassett's eight county service region. We're able to gather patient data from multiple clinical and business systems into one composite

electronic medical record, speeding patient care decision-making, as well as improving patient and provider satisfaction."

McKenna and Deans will travel to Washington, D.C. in June to accept the award on behalf of Bassett Healthcare.

Founded by the International Data Group (IDG) in 1988, the Computerworld Honors Program is governed by the not-for-profit Computerworld Information Technology Awards Foundation. In its 20th year, Computerworld Honors is the longest running global program to honor individuals and organizations that use information technology to benefit society. To learn more about the Computerworld Laureate program, go to www.computerworld.com.

Bassett Healthcare

Bassett Healthcare is a member of the New York-Presbyterian Healthcare System and a leading provider of health services in the central New York region, offering quality primary and specialty care services targeted to address this region's health care needs.

For more information about Bassett, visit www.bassett.org.