News & Press Releases
Saudi hospital first in the Middle East to achieve global recognition for its healthcare IT
King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Center ranked in top 5% worldwide for safety, quality of care and efficiency in new global rating by HIMSS Analytics Asia
DUBAI, UAE (January 25, 2012) - HIMSS Analytics Asia announced King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Center (KFSH&RC) in Riyadh and Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, has achieved Stage 6 on the Electronic Medical Record Adoption Model (EMRAM).
King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Center has been recognized for meeting all criteria for a Stage 6 hospital in the deployment and use of clinical information technology to improve patient safety, quality and efficiency.
HIMSS Analytics developed the EMR Adoption Model in 2005 as a methodology for evaluating the progress and impact of electronic medical record systems for hospitals in the HIMSS Analytics™ Database. Tracking their progress in completing eight stages (0-7), hospitals can review the implementation and utilization of information technology applications with the intent of reaching Stage 7, which represents an advanced electronic patient record environment.
Putting the achievement into perspective, as of Q4 2011, just 5.2% of more than 5,300 hospitals in the United States tracked by HIMSS Analytics had reached Stage 6 on its EMRAM.
"King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Center is clearly leading the way on EMR adoption," said John Hoyt, Executive Vice President, Organizational Services, for HIMSS. "Stage 6 represents an advanced level of sophistication and puts King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Center literally in a league of its own in the Middle East and amongst the top 5% globally."
King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Center has deployed several very strategic clinical applications which have been shown to improve quality and safety, such as:
- Computerized Practitioner Order Entry (CPOE) where physicians enter patient orders directly into the clinical information system which interacts with an intelligent clinical decision support system
- Physician Documentation supported by clinical decision support
- Closed Loop Medication Administration with the use of bar codes to verify the right medication for the right patient at the right time in the right strength and form
- Nursing Documentation online with some direct medical device connectivity for physiologic vital sign capturing
There is increasing evidence that points to significant safety and quality improvements with clinical information systems. Further, health authorities are also finding that recruiting and retaining staff has improved by adopting a modern clinical computing environment.
"As the first recipient of this prestigious accolade in the region, the hospital has demonstrated once again its constant focus on electronic health records to enhance still further the quality of care and clinical outcomes for our patients, " said Professor Qasim Alqasabi, CEO, King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Centre.
The King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Centre will be honored with their Stage 6 Award at the HIMSS Middle East Conference & Leadership Summit which takes place at the new Rocco Forte hotel in Abu Dhabi on 20-21 May 2012.
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Photo caption: Professor Qasim Alqasabi, Chief Executive Officer, King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Centre
Notes to the editor:
Criteria for Stage 6 hospitals
- Have made significant executive commitments and investments to reach this stage.
- Appear to have a significant advantage over competitors for patient safety, clinician support, clinician recruitment, and competitive marketing for both consumers and nurse recruitment.
- Have almost fully automated/paperless medical records when they have implemented their IT applications across most of the inpatient care settings.
- Are either starting to evaluate their data for care delivery process improvements or have already documented significant improvements in this area.
- Have made investments that are within reach of most hospitals and recognize the strategic value of improving patient care with the EMR.
- Have begun to create strategic alignments with their medical staff to effectively utilize information technology to improve the patient safety environment.
- Are well positioned to provide data to key stakeholders, such as payers, the government, physicians, consumers and employers, to support electronic health record environments and health information exchanges.
About Hospital King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Centre
King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre (KFSH&RC) is a state-of-the-art tertiary medical and research facility serving the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the surrounding region. Located in the capital city of Riyadh and coastal port of Jeddah, the hospital system is the national referral center and research hub for oncology, organ transplant, cardiac care, genetic disease, and other tertiary diseases. KFSH&RC has gained a world-wide reputation for its dedication to advancing medical science and research over the past three decades and has established collaborative relationships with internationally recognized institutions.
KFSH&RC is a JCIA-accredited health institute since 2003 and operates 1,200 beds with approximately 11,000 employees. The Hospital took the grass-roots step, like many hospitals grappling with efficiency and quality in patient care, to reconcile multiple stand-alone legacy systems and implemented an integrated patient-centric electronic health record including computerized provider order entry system. An outcome of this step produced one of the region’s first and largest Integrated Clinical Information Systems (ICIS).
About HIMSS Analytics Asia
HIMSS Analytics Asia is a subsidiary of Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) which is a wholly owned not-for-profit healthcare IT organization. HIMSS Analytics Asia collects and analyzes healthcare information related to IT processes and environments, products, IS department composition and costs, IS department management metrics, healthcare trends and purchase-related decisions. HIMSS Analytics Asia delivers high quality products, services and analytical expertise to healthcare delivery organizations, healthcare IT companies, state governments, financial companies, pharmaceutical companies and consulting firms. For more information, please visit www.himssanalyticsasia.org