Newswise — Newsweek has ranked Rush University Medical Center No. 127 among the World’s Best Smart Hospitals and No. 47 in the United States, based on an open-ended survey of peers and health care professionals.

The World’s Best Smart Hospitals 2021 honors the leading 250 hospitals worldwide in the field of smart technologies. The ranking process was based on in-depth interviews with smart hospital experts, an international online survey and desk research for every nominated hospital. Each survey participant was asked for recommendations in five sub-categories and to name an additional category they considered relevant in the context of smart hospitals.

The five sub-categories are as follows:

  • Digital Surgery
  • Digital Imaging
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Telehealth
  • Electronic Medical Records

Rush University System for Health has utilized telehealth in multiple ways, offering top quality care via Rush On Demand, which offers on-demand video visits and E-Visits, as well as  scheduled video visits, for both adults and children. Rush on Demand also has been integrated into the My Rush app. The My Rush app gives patients the ability to access the Rush On Demand experience or connect to scheduled video visits  through the virtual care menu.

In addition, Rush University Medical Center has been a leader in the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and predictive analytics, becoming just the third hospital in the United States to achieve the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society's Stage 7 for the Adoption Model for Analytics Maturity, which the Medical Center attained in January 2019. This type of work through AI helps improve care by identifying meaningful patterns in data — especially the genomic and biometric data used in personalized medicine.

“These new rankings are symbolic of what is happening across Rush University Medical Center as we seek to transform health care delivery,” said Dr. Omar Lateef, CEO of the Medical Center. “With growing expectations to create ways to meet our patients in the digital space, consumers are becoming more and more interested in how strongly health care systems embrace innovation and smart technologies in ways that improve access and add convenience. It’s an honor to be among the first to be recognized as part of these rankings.”

Developed in partnership with global data research company Statista Inc., Newsweek analyzed information from 26 different countries, including the United States, Australia Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Lebanon, Norway, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, The Netherlands, United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom.