It is the first outpatient (ambulatory) based clinic in Qatar to achieve the HIMSS Analytics EMRAM 6 certification. The EMRAM Stage 6 is awarded to hospitals that have achieved a comprehensive list of IT requirements.
The accreditation was achieved for using electronic medical records and other supporting technologies to enhance the quality of care provided to patients and families at the Sidra Outpatient Clinic.
Michael LeRoy, chief information officer of Sidra, said: “To achieve HIMSS Stage 6 certification within eight months of opening our outpatient clinic is a major milestone for Sidra. It puts the Sidra Outpatient Clinic in the same exclusive league as some of the top technologically advanced hospitals in the world.”
One of the key technology features available at the Sidra Outpatient Clinic is that of the Computer Physician Order Entry. This allows physicians to directly enter patient data, including medication orders, and has proven to drastically reduce errors in medication administration and dosage, illegible handwriting and patient allergy alerts.
Another safety feature is the five rights of “closed loop” medication administration – where patient records and medications have bar codes to ensure right dose to the right patient at the right time.
The majority of the Sidra Outpatient Clinic’s medical devices, software applications and technologies have been integrated to allow data to be automatically entered into a patient’s records. For example, every time a patient has a blood pressure, temperature or other result– the device sends the information immediately to that patient’s medical records which allows the physician or nurse to spend more time interacting with the patient.
Sidra’s certification will benefit patients in key patient services related to appointments, vital signs, medical history and follow-up referrals – these are now integrated with their electronic medical records. Patients will have access to all the information about their treatment and services, ensuring that they are active participants in their journey of medication and treatment. It also provides 24-hour easy and secure electronic access to medical files on the Sidra patient portal, which can be viewed externally by patients in Qatar or when overseas.
Further, it includes paperless integration of patient information and also offers an assurance that medication dosage and requirements have already been verified by the time patients proceed to the Sidra pharmacy after their clinical visit.
Dr Khalid Alyafei, acting chief of Medical Informatics at Sidra, said: “The integration of different types of technologies within Sidra has a direct impact on improving patient access and quality of care. Not only are there cost and resource efficiencies – it also provides us with accurate detailing on diagnoses and a safe and effective way to exchange details between practitioners."
“Sidra Medical and Research Centre is making good progress using its electronic medical records to drive improvements in its healthcare operations. They are demonstrating their commitment to providing the best healthcare services possible through their information technology investments,” said John H Daniels, global vice-president, Healthcare Advisory Services Group, HIMSS Analytics.
