Minister of Public Health H E Dr Hanan Mohamed Al Kuwari and Minister of Transport and Communications H E Jassim bin Saif Ahmed Al Sulaiti along with other dignitaries at the HIMSS Qatar Educational Conference and Health IT Exhibition.
Minister of Public Health H E Dr Hanan Mohamed Al Kuwari highlighted the significance of successfully implementing the Clinical Information System (CIS), which provides a personal electronic medical record for each patient across healthcare systems in Qatar, during the inaugural HIMSS Qatar Educational Conference and Health IT Exhibition held recently.
Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC), in collaboration with the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS), hosted the inaugural HIMSS Qatar Educational Conference and Health IT Exhibition.
Organised under the umbrella of the Ministry of Public Health and in partnership with Primary Health Care Corporation (PHCC) and Sidra Medicine, the conference was inaugurated by Dr Al Kuwari and attended by Minister of Transport and Communications H E Jassim bin Saif Ahmed Al Sulaiti and hundreds of healthcare professionals. “I am proud of our achievements in implementing one Clinical Information System across all HMC hospitals and primary health centres. In doing so Qatar has become the first country in the world to utilise this system across its entire public health sector,” said Dr Al Kuwari.
“Qatar’s public health system has grown exponentially in recent decades and it has never been more important to connect the system and share patient medical information between providers. For our patients, it is important that they see all the services at HMC, PHCC, and Sidra Medicine as one connected system, and receive the same high-quality care regardless of where they are treated. The CIS helps to bring the public health system closer together through shared patient information,” she added.
Local and international speakers presented on a range of topics highlighting the enormous clinical IT transformation that is underway across Qatar’s healthcare system. The programme was structured around Clinical Informatics, Diagnostic Informatics, Nursing Informatics and Health Information Management, and featured keynote speakers, industry leaders, cutting-edge health IT products, and a full scientific educational programme.
“This conference, a first-of-its-kind event in Qatar, has provided a wonderful opportunity for healthcare professionals to share and discuss the latest and most relevant information technology news and updates,” said Dr AbdulWahab Al Musleh, Deputy Chief Medical Officer, CIS at HMC. “It has shown a spotlight on the success of our CIS program in Qatar. Our program is benefitting patients through improving safety, boosting our clinicians’ ability to diagnose conditions effectively and quickly, increasing efficiency, and allowing clinicians to spend more time with each patient and less time on paperwork,” said Dr Al Musleh.
Founded in 1961, HIMSS is a global voice, adviser, and leader of health transformation through IT with a unique breadth and depth of expertise to improve the quality, safety, and efficiency of health, healthcare, and care outcomes.
“We are proud to have partnered with HMC on this important regional conference,” said Jeremy Bonfini, Executive Vice President Global Services of HIMSS. “What HMC and PHCC have achieved with the CIS program is remarkable and was formally acknowledged by HIMSS in 2016 with two of HMC’s hospitals - Heart Hospital and the National Center for Cancer Care and Research – being recognized with the HIMSS Analytics Electronic Medical Record Adoption Model (EMRAM) Stage 6 distinction, an international benchmark for the use of advanced IT to improve patient care,” Bonfini added.
