This is an exciting day for healthcare IT leaders who've been working to integrate information technology into care delivery. Today, HIMSS Analytics announced its new Infrastructure Adoption Model or INFRAM. The INFRAM measures the relative levels of adoption of technical infrastructure used within in a health system. By identifying specific benchmarks for organizations to reach before they go live with more advanced business and clinical applications, such as Electronic Medical Records (EMR) systems, IOT, Telemedicine, etc., the INFRAM ensures that a health system's infrastructure is stable, manageable and extensible. With this information, organizations can improve care delivery and create a pathway for infrastructure development tied to business and clinical outcomes.

Since the inception of the model, Cisco has worked closely with HIMSS Analytics as a key collaborator on the pilot program, along with other organizations from around the world. So it's only natural that Cisco is the model's first Certified Consultant, engaging and assisting our clients in advancing through maturity model stages.

The HIMSS Analytics Maturity Models have become the worldwide standard for measuring healthcare organizations' dedication to improving processes and outcomes through advancements in technology. Similar to the HIMSS Analytics Electronic Medical Record Adoption Model, or, EMRAM, the INFRAM is an eight stage model (0 -7) that allows healthcare IT leaders to map the technology infrastructure capabilities required to reach their facility's clinical and operational goals, while meeting industry benchmarks and standards.  The final stage, Stage 7, guides organizations towards optimized information integration, contextualization and orchestration essential for the delivery of higher order local and virtualized care processes.

For more information about INFRAM and to be one of the first organizations to get your INFRAM score, go to the HIMSS Analytics website.