Ain Al Khaleej Hospital Achieves HIMSS 6 Certification with EPR System
Client:
Ain Al Khaleej HospitalChallenge:
- Establishing digital processes in a young healthcare operation
- Making the transition from paper documentation to electronic records
- Safeguarding patients with electronic processes
Solution:
- Adopt DXC Enterprise Management
- Implement a closed-loop medication administration process
- Ensure proper documentation according to accreditation standards
Results:
- Achieved Stage 6 HIMSS Electronic Medical Record Adoption Model certification
- Enabled a completely paperless environment and electronic medical records
- Provided exceptional service facilitated by digital tools
Hospital Achieves HIMSS 6 Certification with EPR System
Though just four years old, Ain Al Khaleej Hospital in the United Arab Emirates has already achieved significant milestones on its journey to digital health.
The hospital serves the growing population of Al Ain under the governance of the Health Authority of Abu Dhabi (HAAD). It has 108 beds and attends to more than 600 patients a day.
Recently, the hospital earned accolades from the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) for its electronic patient record (EPR) system. HIMSS awarded Ain Al Khaleej with Stage 6 certification in the Electronic Medical Record Adoption Model (EMRAM), an eight-stage maturity model that tracks hospitals’ progress toward a paperless environment.
Fueling this success is DXC’s Enterprise Management, a proven EPR system that helps to create connections between every department within the hospital, delivering information when and where it’s needed.
Going paperless
With a focus on world-class IT and digital tools, Ain Al Khaleej has made great strides in a short time toward a paperless, fully electronic working environment. But it hasn’t accomplished this without struggle. According to the hospital, one of the biggest challenges came from the nursing staff.
Although electronic records are known to reduce or eliminate errors in documentation, orders, test results and patient information, hospital nurses were, at first, resistant to the change. They felt more comfortable having paper backups.
But eventually they were won over by the benefits of the DXC Enterprise Management system. The system’s advanced capabilities include physician order entry, medication administration, clinical documentation and decision support, filmless radiology processes and pharmacy management.
Since implementing the system, the hospital has operated in a paperless manner. “[T]hat has not only been cost-effective, but it’s been, from a documentation perspective, perfect in terms of our ability to provide accurate detailing on diagnosis and provide a more succinct process for exchange of details between the practitioners,” says Jim Purcell, CEO of Ain Al Khaleej Hospital.
Closing the loop
DXC’s Enterprise Management is a fully integrated, single database, end-to-end healthcare solution that can be scaled for large healthcare organizations. The solution seamlessly links disparate sites and workflows, and it also includes powerful modules for creating and maintaining detailed patient records across multiple sites and care settings.
The system helps organizations deliver the highest standards of patient care by connecting all available information, from patient demographics to clinical data and financial reports.
“Achieving HIMSS Stage 6 is a major step toward realizing our vision of giving the best patient care and service to the population of Al Ain. Without DXC’s dedication and cooperation, it would not have been possible to achieve Stage 6 standards of electronic medical records.”
“Patient safety is of paramount importance to us in the healthcare sector, and this system alerts us when we are under pressure, thereby safeguarding the patient safety,” says Neil Holtham, director of nursing.
In addition, DXC’s Enterprise Management provides defined documentation standards from the Joint Commission International Accreditation and other accreditation bodies to help providers ensure that they properly document patient care.
“Achieving HIMSS Stage 6 is a major step toward realizing our vision of giving the best patient care and service to the population of Al Ain,” says Dr. Abdalla Almemari, vice chairman and chief medical officer of the hospital. “Without DXC’s dedication and cooperation, it would not have been possible to achieve Stage 6 standards of electronic medical records.”
Looking ahead
Even with this significant certification in place, the hospital is not resting on its laurels. Working with DXC, the hospital is looking toward the future and strategizing to earn Stage 7 certification.
Administrators credit DXC with helping the hospital make such big gains in such a short time, to the benefit of providers and patients.
“Having a partner that has been down this road before certainly helps alleviate some of the pitfalls that perhaps — if we didn’t have that arrangement — we would encounter,” Purcell says. “In essence, it would be a dream for us to be at the point we are today if it hadn’t been for the relationship and the partnering with DXC.”*
*This success story was originally written by CSC, which has become DXC Technology as of April 2017.