The Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) Analytics has recently announced that two Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) facilities, the Heart Hospital and the National Center for Cancer Care and Research (NCCCR), have achieved the HIMSS Analytics Electronic Medical Record Adoption ModelSM (EMRAM) Stage 6 distinction, an international benchmark for the use of advanced IT to improve patient care.
HMC’s Heart Hospital and NCCCR are the first two hospitals in Qatar to achieve HIMSS Analytics Stage 6 accreditation. made possible by HMC’s systemwide adoption of Cerner’s EHR. In addition, the facilities are Cerner’s No. 14 and No. 15 clients in the Middle East to receive the recognition.
“The Stage 6 accreditation demonstrates that electronic physician documentation has been installed throughout the entire hospital with structured documentation templates, which enables physicians to ‘point-and-click’ from a standardized selection of options that facilitate future reporting and data analysis. We have a clinical decision support system, and closed loop medication administration, which contributes to the delivery of safer and more effective patient care,” said Professor William McKenna, medical director and CEO of the Heart Hospital.
HIMSS Analytics developed the EMRAM as a methodology for evaluating the progress and impact of electronic medical record systems for hospitals in the HIMSS Analytics™ Database. There are eight stages (0 – 7) that measure a hospital’s implementation and utilization of information technology applications. Hospitals can tack and review their progress in completing each stage as they proceed towards the ultimate goal of reaching Stage 7, which represents an advanced electronic patient record environment that delivers safety and efficiency improvements.
Dr. AbdulWahab Al Musleh, HMC’s deputy CMO for Clinical Information Systems and EMRAM project sponsor said, “Through effectively using Cerner Millennium, the digital progress continues to transform the way care is delivered to our patients. With more complete patient information, our clinicians improve their ability to make well-informed treatment decisions quickly and safely.”
“Cerner Millennium produced savings in several areas, including medication entry. A primary benefit of the Computer Physician Order Entry (CPOE) is that it can help reduce errors, such as those related to illegible handwriting, transcription of medication orders and adverse drug events. Over the next year, with the continued use of CPOE, we expect to continue saving lives while lowering costs,” added Dr. Al Musleh.
Dr. Alejandro Kohn Tuli, Senior Consultant Cardiothoracic Surgeon at HMC, a key contributor to the project, added, “Achieving Stage 6 recognition is the result of collective team effort by all clinical and administrative teams, which would not have been possible without their valuable commitment. This achievement is an important milestone keeping HMC hospitals on the forefront clinically and technologically, regionally and internationally.”
