CHiME honors San Diego Health System for eighth consecutive year
San Diego — Scripps Health has been recognized as one of the nation’s leading health systems for its use of digital technology to improve patient care and operations, earning one of the top designations in the 2026 Digital Health Most Wired survey.
This marks the eighth consecutive year Scripps has appeared on the annual list from the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME), and the fifth time the health system achieved the second-highest Level 9 ranking.
“Technology is changing how healthcare is delivered, but our goal remains the same — providing the best possible care for our patients,” Scripps President and CEO Chris Van Gorder said. “This honor reflects our ongoing commitment to finding innovative ways to make care safer, more convenient and more effective while supporting the physicians, nurses and other caregivers who deliver that care every day.”
More than 45,000 health care facilities worldwide were represented in this year’s survey, which was conducted by CHIME, a professional organization and executive association dedicated to serving senior digital health and healthcare information technology leaders.
CHIME evaluated organizations on use of technology in a wide range of areas including clinical quality and safety, analytics and data management, cyber security, population health, infrastructure, patient engagement and innovation. The survey measures the adoption, maturity, outcomes and value of technology across health care organizations.
Scripps has expanded its use of digital technology in recent years, introducing new tools that help patients connect with their doctors, give caregivers better access to information and improve the coordination of care throughout its hospitals and clinics.
Recent examples include:
- Expanded virtual care: Scripps Clinic Medial Group and Scripps Coastal Medical Group primary care patients can connect with available providers through same-day, on-demand video visits using the MyScripps patient portal.
- Easier access to care: Patients can use MyScripps to schedule appointments, review test results, communicate with their care teams and see real-time wait times at Scripps emergency departments, urgent care centers, walk-in clinics and laboratories.
- Operations command center: Scripps has developed a 24/7 centralized department supporting bed management at Scripps’ hospitals, patient monitoring with a dedicated team of telemetry and virtual patient observation technicians, and pre-surgical evaluation and post-discharge outreach staff, all with access to real-time information and advanced technology to help coordinate hospital operations and patient care.
- Artificial intelligence: Scripps uses AI-assisted clinical documentation technology to help physicians and nurses capture information from clinic visits and hospital stays, reducing the time they spend creating medical notes and allowing them to focus more attention on patients.
“Digital innovation is about much more than introducing new technology,” said Shane Thielman, corporate senior vice president and chief information and digital officer at Scripps. “It’s about applying the right solutions to challenges to improve performance, elevate patient experience and empower our clinicians and caregivers. From making it easier for patients to access care to equipping our care teams with the insights they need to make better informed decisions, our focus is on technology that makes a meaningful difference in how care is delivered.”
The Digital Health Most Wired survey serves as a measure of digital maturity for health care organizations around the world that have moved beyond technology implementation to integrate their digital investment across clinical and operational environments, according to CHIME. Digital transformation increasingly affects the quality and accessibility of care, and designation as a Most Wired health system extends beyond information technology to reflect an organization-wide commitment to advancing healthcare through digital initiatives.
ABOUT SCRIPPS HEALTH … Founded in 1924 by philanthropist Ellen Browning Scripps, Scripps Health is a nonprofit integrated healthcare delivery system based in San Diego, Calif. Scripps treats more than 600,000 patients annually through the dedication of more than 3,500 affiliated physicians and nearly 18,000 employees among its five acute-care hospital campuses, more than 70 outpatient and specialty locations, and hundreds of affiliated physician offices throughout the region.
Recognized as a leader in disease and injury prevention, diagnosis and treatment, Scripps is also at the forefront of clinical research and is the only health system in the region with two level 1 trauma centers. With highly respected graduate medical education programs at all five hospital campuses, Scripps is a longstanding member of the Association of American Medical Colleges. Scripps has been ranked eight times as one of the nation’s best healthcare systems by Premier. Its hospitals are consistently ranked by U.S. News & World Report among the nation’s best, and Scripps is recognized by the Advisory Board and Fortune as one of the best places in the nation to work. More information can be found at www.scripps.org.
