Informatics delivers healthcare gains for Guiyang, China

China’s National Health and Family Planning Commission manages more than 100 primary medical and healthcare institutions in the city of Guiyang. To improve care and prepare for the future, the commission wanted a single information platform so it could more effectively coordinate and deliver coverage across all those institutions in this growing city of southwest China.

To achieve this, information architect Chen Shuhuai says the commission knew it needed to upgrade the department’s supervisory capabilities in informatics. “Our supervision capabilities in informatization were relatively weak, so we were unable to complete the effective management of all the medical institutions within our city’s district,” he says.

The commission, Shuhuai says, also was unable to achieve true data sharing and interconnectivity for medical institutions of different hierarchical levels, and between medical institutions of the same level. As a result, Shuhai says, “We were unable to coordinate processes such as referrals to specialists, tiered diagnosis and treatment, remote diagnosis and treatment through an information system.”

A platform to serve 7 million and growing

To build a foundation for improvement and to accommodate future growth, DXC established an integrated management system that covers regional medical institutions, medical businesses and a population of 7 million people. The system improves data sharing between medical and healthcare institutions, and facilitates the collaboration of processes between medical institutions. It also minimizes the investments necessary to participate.

DXC’s solution created six categories of apps that enable core business processes, such as supervision from governmental departments, the informatization of primary healthcare institutions, residents’ health apps, big data analytics and more. The platform uses big data analytics technology in the government’s decision-making process for their supervision, and for residents’ medical records.

A proactive partnership improves healthcare access

DXC’s solution is playing a vital role in the implementation of reforms in national medical policies and the development of an overall plan for the informatics of the country’s health and medical sector. The connected health platform has compiled the records of citizens throughout the province. Better information gathering, analysis and sharing have raised the standard of information for the medical sector in Guiyang. These elements have also improved the public’s access to and recognition of the medical and healthcare sector.

“DXC’s innovative aspect lies in two areas; its cloud computing technology and big data analytics technology,” Shuhuai said. “First, our core processes platform is deployed in our cloud. For primary healthcare institutions, as long as they have access to the private network, there is no need to purchase other additional IT equipment. [Secondly,] DXC utilizes big data analytics technology in the government’s decision-making process for their supervision, and for residents’ medical records.”

The commission has been working with DXC for three years, and Shuhuai says the feedback has been positive. “I feel that they are always proactive and able to respond to our requests and requirements in a timely manner.” The organization, Shuhuai says, expects more to come. “We hope to have more in-depth collaboration with DXC in the future.”