Norwich — For the sixth straight year, The William W. Backus Hospital has been recognized as one of the most technologically advanced hospitals in the nation with a “Most Wired” award by Hospitals and Health Networks, a health care publication of the American Hospital Association, the hospital announced Wednesday.

Most Wired Award winners are selected based on the Annual Health Care’s Most Wired Survey, administered by the association’s Health Forum.

The award signifies a hospital’s commitment to technology and improving the efficiency of care delivery, the hospital said in a news release. 

“Being named Most Wired for the sixth consecutive year speaks to the dedication of our information technology staff in ensuring that our patients, staff and providers are connected to the latest and best technology — offering safe and easy access to vital health information 24 hours a day,” said Bimal Patel, president of the East Region of Hartford HealthCare, the network that includes Backus.

In 2014, Backus launched a patient portal that provides a channel for patients to see upcoming scheduled appointments, view their results and reports, request prescription refills from their providers, and to exchange messages with their providers between visits.

Thus far, nearly 11,000 patients are registered users of the portal, the hospital said.