The magazine polled approximately 1,570 hospitals for the survey, conducted in partnership with McKesson, the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives and the American Hospital Association.

The "Most Wired" demonstrated better outcomes in four key areas: infrastructure, business and administrative management, clinical quality and safety, and clinical integration.

Hospitals & Health Networks also found that "Most Wired" hospitals are better prepared for security breaches and employ more tools to protect patient data.

More than 700 area physicians have partnered with PinnacleHealth on PHS Connect, an interactive, health-information-sharing website that provides secure access to common test results and other medical records.