Saudi Arabia’s King Khaled Eye Specialist Hospital (KKESH) has achieved Stage 6 on the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society’s (HIMSS) electronic medical record adoption model (EMRAM).

HIMSS’ independent validation recognizes that the hospital meets all of the criteria for a Stage 6 hospital in the deployment and use of clinical information technology and advanced safety features to further enhance the quality of patient care.

King Khaled Eye Specialist Hospital is the first Saudi Ministry of Health hospital to achieve this global recognition.

Achieving HIMSS EMRAM Stage 6 places KKESH among the elite hospitals that have successfully deployed this level of healthcare information technology, among more than 7,500 hospitals tracked by HIMSS Analytics globally.

“King Khaled Eye Specialist Hospital has implemented full, mandated Computerized Physician Order Entry and electronic clinical documentation for both nurses and physicians. As a result, virtually all clinical orders are being placed electronically, and most clinical documentation is in electronic format – often in structured format,” said Uwe Buddrus, senior consultant at HIMSS Analytics.

HIMSS Analytics developed EMRAM 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 goal of reaching Stage 7, the most advanced electronic patient record environment.

Dr Abdul-Elah Al-Towerki, general executive director at King Khaled Eye Specialist Hospital, said: “We are honoured to be recognized by HIMSS as a Stage 6 hospital.  Reaching such a world-class standard is a direct result of continuous support from the Kingdom’s Ministry of Health, which enables us to provide quality tertiary ophthalmic care to our patients.”

“At King Khaled Eye Specialist Hospital, we are proud of adopting the latest healthcare technology. We worked with InterSystems to deploy advanced clinical capabilities in the TrakCare system that are known to improve quality of care and patient safety,” said Amar Hijazi, director of Information Technology at King Khaled Eye Specialist Hospital.

“We have implemented the Computerized Physician Order Entry (CPOE) functionality, supported by clinical decision support, to offer best practice and evidence-based clinical guidance to our physicians.

“We have also applied the online Physician and Nursing Documentation, including structured forms for the different ophthalmology sub specialities. By using Closed Loop Medication Administration with bar codes, we can verify the application of the Five Rights of Medication Administration,” he added.

Michel Amous, country manager for the Middle East at InterSystems, said: “KKESH deployed the InterSystems TrakCare unified health information system in record time, and achieved HIMSS Stage 6 just five months after the go-live.  This shows the excellent teamwork between KKESH and InterSystems.” – TradeArabia News Service