Johns Hopkins Hospital Files Prospectus Highlighting 22-Year Reign as Nation's Top Hospital

Johns Hopkins Hospital (JHH) enjoys a prestigious reputation in the United States; indeed, virtually all healthcare professionals are familiar with this name.Its most recent prominent recognition came in July, when it ranked third (tied with UCLA Medical Center) on U.S. News & World Report’s list of “Best Hospitals” nationwide. Furthermore, JHH secured the top position in the magazine’s comprehensive national hospital evaluation, which assessed performance across 15 adult specialties and 10 pediatric specialties.

U.S. News & World Report Website's Coverage Page on the 2015-2016 Honor Roll of America's Best Hospitals

Certainly, none of this is by chance.Founded in 1889, Johns Hopkins Hospital is part of Johns Hopkins Medicine (JHM). It integrates physicians and researchers from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine with the affiliated institutions, healthcare professionals, and facilities of the Johns Hopkins Hospital and Health System, forming a comprehensive network that stands as one of the premier healthcare systems in the United States.

Johns Hopkins Medicine Official Website

Statistical Data on Johns Hopkins Hospital, Including ID Number, Website, Address, Zip Code, Institution Type, Bed Count, Outpatient Volume, and Staff Size (Source: http://www.ahadataviewer.com, U.S. Association Website)

TelemedicineTelemedicine, literally understood, refers to the integration of medical knowledge with communication and computer technologies to enable the long-distance delivery of healthcare services. Johns Hopkins has been working toward realizing telemedicine since as early as 1999.On December 14, 1999, Johns Hopkins Medicine and Lucent Technologies announced that they had reached an agreement to leverage information technology to promote telemedicine on a global scale.Under the agreement, they will jointly design a secure, high-speed network to support Johns Hopkins’ growing telemedicine applications and manage inbound and outbound data. The network will also facilitate easier access for patients worldwide to Johns Hopkins’ medical expertise and facilities.Johns Hopkins will provide international services in the fields of healthcare consulting, patient services, education, and training, while Lucent Technologies will provide the professional expertise and technical support in hardware, software, and networking required for these services.This collaboration served to significantly boost Hopkins’ global visibility.However, as consumer choices have broadened and new technologies have advanced, the healthcare services of the past have increasingly failed to meet people’s needs. Thus,In 2008, Johns Hopkins International (JHI) collaborated with Eceptionist and Triage Manager to launch the “Remote Medical Second Opinion Program (RMSO).”JHI provides MSO services to partner organizations, assisting patients, their families, and local healthcare providers in deciding whether to pursue treatment locally or seek consultation at Johns Hopkins.Currently, the departments at Johns Hopkins Hospital offering this service include: Dermatology; Gastroenterology and Hepatology; Neurology and Neurosurgery; Neuroradiology; Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery; Pathology; Surgery; and Urology.Three years later, in August 2011, Johns Hopkins Medicine announced the implementation of the Epic initiative. The goal of this initiative was to effectively utilize and schedule a comprehensive, integrated Electronic Medical Record (EMR) system across the entire Johns Hopkins Medicine (JHM) network.The Epic electronic health record (EHR) package, developed by Epic Systems, will ultimately replace the clinical and financial computer systems across all hospitals and outpatient facilities under the Johns Hopkins Medicine umbrella, including Johns Hopkins Community Physicians sites nationwide. The Epic EHR enables seamless integration, allowing authorized personnel to access comprehensive information throughout a patient’s entire course of care. Physicians, nurses, and other healthcare providers can retrieve data on inpatients, outpatients, emergency department patients, and other patient populations through a single unified system.In August 2014, JHM and Kaiser Permanente (the world’s largest HMO organization) announced a collaboration on electronic health records (EHRs)., and jointly explore the most effective ways to improve human health in practice.Furthermore, the objectives of the partnership include: strengthening collaboration between Kaiser and Suburban Hospital (a member of JHM); continuing to advance family health initiatives by leveraging IT to enable personalized medication; promoting cooperation between Kaiser and the Armstrong Institute to improve treatment outcomes and reduce costs; and seeking new educational programs as well as research-based best practices.Incidentally, the collaboration between Kaiser and Johns Hopkins Medicine has a long history, having been sustained for over fifteen years.Promoting the "Sharp Tool"One distinct feature of JHM, unlike other large medical institutions, is that you can access the latest information about it online through various channels—such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube—from anywhere in the world.

Social Media in Collaboration with Johns Hopkins Hospital

Additionally, to facilitate contact and consultation with Johns Hopkins experts for patients and individuals in need from various regions, JHM has listed the Twitter accounts of numerous experts on its website homepage. By following these accounts, anyone can engage in quick and convenient online communication with leading experts in their respective fields.

Profiles and Twitter Accounts of Selected Experts at Johns Hopkins Hospital

In addition, Johns Hopkins offers free subscriptions to e-newsletters on various topics. Upon successful subscription, the latest issue of each e-newsletter is delivered monthly to the subscriber’s email address. To date, JHM has launched e-newsletters including Your Health, Hopkins News For You, Breakthrough, Kimmel Wire, Parkinson's & Movement Disorders Digest, Science News, Stroke Prevention Connection, and A Woman's Journey, covering a wide range of fields. Subscribing to these e-newsletters is simple: just provide a valid email address and your name.Taking Your Health as an example, its content primarily includes health tips, news on scientific research and treatment options, healthy recipes, patient stories, reminders for Hopkins hospital lectures and health screenings, videos, and more.

Johns Hopkins Hospital Your Health e-Newsletter

10 Apps DevelopedNowadays, with the rapid development of mobile internet technology and to meet the public’s demand for convenient and timely medical information and diagnostic and treatment services, numerous mobile health apps with diverse functionalities have emerged on mobile terminals. To further facilitate broader access to high-quality medical resources, Johns Hopkins Medicine has launched more than 10 mobile health applications:

JHM in ChinaOn March 4, 2014, JHM signed a cooperation agreement with Sun Yat-sen University to advance the development of medical research infrastructure in China.According to representatives from both sides, this collaboration will establish a long-term platform for exchange among clinical researchers, translational researchers, professional scientific personnel, and administrators in China and the United States. Furthermore, it will lay the foundation for the development of medical research infrastructure in China.During the first phase of the partnership, experts from Johns Hopkins University will travel to Sun Yat-sen University to deliver lectures and lead workshops specifically designed to enhance the professionalism of researchers and scientific staff. These experts have also developed a competitive research program at Johns Hopkins for future researchers and junior faculty members from Sun Yat-sen University, while providing strategic and technical advice on a range of issues, including research infrastructure, operational procedures, safety, and equipment management.In addition, according to media reports,In March 2015, Johns Hopkins Medicine signed a cooperation agreement with its Chinese counterpart. The two parties will engage in multi-faceted collaboration in areas such as remote training, telemedicine, and international hospital development. The first joint initiative—the Pathologist Training Program—is scheduled to launch in June.In accordance with the cooperation agreement signed by both parties, Dian Diagnostics will serve as the Chinese partner to introduce multiple world-leading diagnostic technologies from JHM, such as those for cancer, cardiovascular diseases, and endocrine disorders. It will promote a mobile application that provides free training for physicians, establish a “Center for Continuing Education and Training in Pathology” and an “International Medical Diagnosis and Treatment Center” in China, engage in telemedicine collaboration, and jointly establish an international hospital in the future.As of 2013, according to the comprehensive strength rankings of U.S. hospitals published by U.S. News & World Report, Johns Hopkins Hospital had ranked first for 22 consecutive years. VCBeat’s preliminary analysis identifies three primary reasons: First, Johns HopkinsAlways Prioritize Patient Interests. They continuously leverage new technologies to create greater convenience for patients in consultation and treatment, while striving to extend this convenience to a broader population. Although this may seem easy and abstract, few institutions have truly achieved and sustained it. Secondly, Johns Hopkins places great emphasis on technological innovation. Whether it isJohns Hopkins has been continuously striving to enhance its capabilities in terms of physician expertise, research proficiency, diagnostic and therapeutic equipment, and other hardware facilities such as medical and nursing conditions., consistently maintaining a world-leading standard; finally, Johns Hopkins understands how to fully leverage the spirit of collaboration and sharing. In this era,Sharing holds greater advantages than going it alone.Text | Lü XiaoyiEditor: Mo Renying