Tawam Hospital first to implement EMR in Abu Dhabi

This makes it the first in a total of six Abu Dhabi Health Services Company (SEHA) hospitals and 12 clinics in Abu Dhabi that are scheduled to be electronically linked by 2009.

The new system will eventually link all 11 SEHA hospitals and 39 clinics in Abu Dhabi.

The electronic medical records allow healthcare providers to record and exchange patient information electronically, as opposed to using paper records, which can potentially save money and result in more efficent care.

Saif Al Qubaisi, SEHA Managing Director, said that by the end of 2009, the system will be completely implemented in all SEHA facilities, which will accelerate the creation and management of patient records. Patient information will be available to all SEHA providers at all times.

Ahmed Al Mazroui, Chairman of SEHA, said SEHA aims to eventually automate medical record-keeping and other patient systems.

"We are harnessing technology to improve efficiency and safety in our hospitals and building on the emirate's e-government initiative", he said.

Car Stanifer, CEO of SEHA, said the implementation of EMR technology at Tawam, which started last month, is already improving the quality of care at the hospital.

"The implementation of the EMR technology is a great success at Tawam Hospital and it is already showing results, facilitating information access for physicians and consequently improving the quality of patient care," he said.