SEHA begins roll out of EMR solution

SEHA, the Abu Dhabi Health Services Company, has begun the initial stage of implementing a state-of-the-art Electronic Medical Record (EMR) solution.

The first roll out of the solution was carried out at Tawam Hospital in Al Ain. The Johns Hopkins Medicine International affiliated hospital, is a 468-bed tertiary care hospital owned and operated by SEHA, and is the pilot site for EMR solution, which will be implemented to five additional hospitals and 12 clinics throughout Abu Dhabi over the next 18 months. Ultimately the EMR program will link all 11 SEHA hospitals and more than 39 clinics in Abu Dhabi.

Following the successful implementation H.E. Dr. Ahmed Al Mazrouei, Chairman of SEHA said, "This milestone is the first in a series of steps to automate medical recordkeeping and other patient systems. We are harnessing technology to improve efficiency and safety in our hospitals and building on the Emirate's e-government initiative."

Saif Al Qubaisi, Managing Director of SEHA provided further insight into the importance of the system to enhanced patient care: "By the end of 2009 the system will be completely implemented in all SEHA facilities. By creating a unified electronic medical record (EMR) for our hospitals and clinics, a patient can utilise the services of any SEHA facility. The new EMR system will help ensure patient information is available when- and wherever a SEHA provider needs it. This system will noticeably accelerate the creation and management of patient records. It will always be up to date and complete. It is state-of-the-art."

SEHA is implementing the Cerner Millennium healthcare information technology (HIT) computing platform and this has been combined with a secure data centre and network provided by telecoms giant Etisalat.

According to SEHA its choice of Cerner lay in the system's flexibility and the extensive local support available.

The Cerner Millennium solutions are enabling Tawam Hospital to automate processes in the radiology, pathology, pharmacy, surgery, emergency, and scheduling and registration departments, with patient care and order information fed into the EMR.

The EMR program is the latest in a series of undertakings by SEHA to improve healthcare in Abu Dhabi. Expanding upon its initiatives Carl V. Stanifer, CEO of SEHA said: "At SEHA, our goal is to provide all our patients with the best healthcare available. We are continually reviewing opportunities to develop ways to improve the patient experience. The implementation of the EMR technology is a great success at Tawam Hospital and it is already showing results, facilitating information access for physicians and consequently improving the quality of patient care. As these systems are introduced across the SEHA system, this successful technological advancement will benefit all our patients in the future."