Dubai Heath Authority felicitates hospitals in the emirate that are adopted electronic and paperless systems.

Survey shows 96.7 per cent of  hospitals in Dubai  have already embarked on their journey towards a paper-less environment

Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 19 February, 2014: Three  hospitals in Dubai won an award at a ceremony  that was recently held at Meydan Hotel to felicitate hospitals that follow best practices in electronic  implementation of medical records.

The ceremony was organized by the DHA and Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) and the award was given for two categories: Dubai hospitals that represent best practices in implementation of the Electronic Medical Record (EMR) and hospitals have dramatically improved their  Electronic Medical Record Adoption Model (EMRAM) score results compared to the previous year (i.e. highest jumpers). The Saudi-German hospital won the prize in the first category while Belhoul European Hospital and Burjeel Hospital won the prize on the latter category.

All hospitals were judged on the basis on their EMRAM score.  EMRAM stands for: Electronic Medical Record Adoption Model and is accepted today world-wide as an international benchmark to stage hospital’s electronic efforts. The model uses a 0-7 stage scale to rate hospitals based on the extent to which they have adopted a paperless, digital system. Stage 7 means the hospital is a paperless and digital hospital.

This initiative is in line with the DHA’s long-term vision to implement the Dubai Smart Healthcare Model that was launched by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, at Gitex 2013. The model includes three components: smart operations, smart applications and smart hospitals.

DHA and HIMSS began the journey of benchmarking hospitals in Dubai as per the EMRAM model in 2011 and so far, there has been a significant improvement in the level of electronic integration adopted by all hospitals.

John Hoyt, Executive Vice President, HIMSS Analytics,  announced the EMRAM winners and  said: “ We are excited to see the dramatic improvement of the percentage of Stage 5 hospitals from 0% in 2011 to 22.4% in 2013 which shows clearly the benefits of EMRAM as a benchmark and as planning tool. Additionally, the percentage of hospitals which embarked on their automation journey has increased by 18.1%  since the we implemented the program for hospitals in Dubai."

Dr. Mohammad Al Redha, director of health data and information analysis department  at the DHA stated that the adoption of the HIMSS EMRAM plays a beneficial role in Dubai's Smart Government and Smart City plans. “Dubai is keen to offer smart healthcare services to consumers, therefore we need to a test these services against international automation benchmarks. The EMRAM is a global benchmark that aligns not only with the Dubai's domestic mandate to be smart and paper-free city, but also with its global ambitions. We are pleased to see the increase in the number of hospitals that are on track with their automation plans towards a paper-less environment.”

He added that the DHA provides complete support to all hospitals that need any kind of assistance in their mission to move towards a paperless environment. The next survey results  and award ceremony will be held in the beginning of 2015, and will track the development of each hospital for this year.