New health information system "iCare" launched at SKMC

SKMC adopted the Cerner Millennium healthcare information system computing platform recently launched by SEHA as part of a SEHA system-wide HIS upgrade.

By the end of 2009, the system will be deployed across all SEHA hospitals and clinics in the Emirate making SEHA the only fully electronic healthcare system in the region.

Cerner is a leading worldwide provider of health information systems and technologies.

Saif Al Qubaisi, Managing Director of SEHA, which owns and operates SKMC said:

"I congratulate all the members of the project team of SKMC. I also salute our partners including Cerner, Etisalat, Perot Systems and Gulf Business Machines who have helped successfully adopt this system. This milestone is the one 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."

Dr Scott Strong, Acting CEO of SKMC, said "We adopted the Cerner Millennium healthcare information system computing platform. The system is created and designed to help health organizations improve financial and clinical outcomes by driving error, variance and waste from the care process. These solutions allow clinicians to run tests, make diagnoses, place orders, fill medications, document care and remit bills using a single information system. By accelerating the flow of information and enhancing the communication stream, the Cerner Millennium solutions will help make the healthcare process safer and more efficient for our patients here at SKMC and for the population of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi who use SEHA's network of facilities."

"It is very important when treating a patient to have access to their medical history, especially in emergency cases when time is of the essence," said John R. Hawkins, SEHA information and technology director. "By implementing this system, SEHA hospitals and healthcare-providers will instantly share the same patient-data. This gives all the providers the information they need to treat the patients and it will eliminate the duplication of tests as well as chances of giving inappropriate medication."

"Implementing the Cerner Millennium solution has several benefits for our patients as well as our employees. Duplicate, and possibly conflicting, patient records will be eliminated due to a single source of accurate, up-to-date patient information," said Sulaiman H. Sulaiman, Chief Information Officer at SKMC.

The system will be accessed 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Healthcare information will be stored and updated electronically with important safeguards to protect patient confidentiality."

He added that, "We have internally branded the new system as "iCare", expressing the aim of this Information Technology Tool to ultimately support our staff and clinicians in providing the best healthcare to our patients. We strive to offer the best medical care in the country and look forward to serving our patients with superior care with the latest implementation of this new state-of-the-art health information system."

A number of registration & admissions seniors and staff agreed that the iCare solutions save them time and will help reduce missing charts and inaccurate information.

It will improve communication between care providers and patients, which facilitates quicker and more effective patient treatment.

Mr. Sulaiman added that, "health records will be accessed easily and opportunity to share health care information efficiently, securely and confidentially between linked SEHA Hospitals and PHCs. It will also reduce 'repeated' patient questioning due to access to updated patient demographic data in all SEHA clinics and hospitals.

"More then 450 employees from different departments at SKMC were trained to use the new system. We would like to thank them all for their tremendous efforts in getting this system started, thus improving patient care.

Additionally, we would like to thank the project team members for their dedication and commitment in building the system, training the employees, and deploying iCare," Mr. Sulaiman avowed. "SKMC management would also like to thank our patients in advance for working with us as we refine our processes during the implementation of the new system. The iCare solutions will ultimately allow us to improve patient safety and enable our employees to provide the highest quality of care possible."

The implementation of the new application will be deployed in phases.

The first phase was successfully launched on the 17th of July, 2008.

It involved the Surgical Pavilions, Medical Pavilion, Outpatient Clinics, and the Primary Healthcare Clinics.

It improves several functions within SKMC, such as registration, scheduling, medical records, radiology, outpatient pharmacies and physician order entry.

The second phase will include additional clinical functionality and cover the Abu Dhabi Rehabilitation Center (ADRC) and the Behavioral Sciences Pavilion (BSP).

"Cerner commends the Sheikh Khalifa Medical City and SEHA for advancing their vision of providing the best care possible for patients through the use of healthcare information technology, including their goal of compliance with the Joint Commission International accreditation standards," said Trace Devanny, Cerner president.

"We are proud to provide the technology that is helping these organizations set the standard for safe and efficient care in the United Arab Emirates."