Implementation of electronic medical records (EMR) in the UAE could save $640 million a year for more than 80 federal, local and private hospitals in the country, said an industry expert.

John P Hoyt, executive vice president, Organisational Services, HIMMS Analytics USA, will present global case histories and data on the financial and clinical return on investments of healthcare IT systems at an upcoming conference in Abu Dhabi.

Leading healthcare delegates will gather at the annual HIMSS Middle East 2012 conference which takes place in Abu Dhabi on May 20 and 21 at the Rocco Forte Hotel to examine the return on investments for hospitals adopting clinical information technology in the UAE’s burgeoning healthcare sector.

“A case study in 2010, showed that six hospitals in the US saved a total of $48.5 million per annum by adopting EMR technology,” added Hoyt.

Effective EMR systems benefit hospitals with staff exceeding 150,000 down to the single physician family practice. No matter what scale of healthcare organisation, EMR increases efficiency and reduces operating costs.

To assess the EMR technology, HIMSS Analytics developed the Electronic Medical Record Adoption Model (EMRAM) in 2005 as a methodology for evaluating the progress and impact of electronic medical record systems for hospitals in the HIMSS Analytics Database.

The EMRAM system uses an eight stage assessment (0-7) that measures the extent of EMR technology adoption in hospitals with 7 representing an advanced electronic patient environment.

King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Center (KFSH&RC) in Riyadh and Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, will be honoured this year with their Stage 6 award on EMRAM, the first hospital in the Middle East to achieve global recognition for its healthcare IT.

“Putting this achievement into perspective, as of the fourth quarter of 2011, just 5.2 per cent of more than 5,300 hospitals in the US tracked by HIMSS Analytics had reached Stage 6 on its EMRAM,” said Hoyt.

Key speakers at this year’s HIMSS Middle East conference include Zaid Daoud Al Siksek, CEO, Health Authority Abu Dhabi who will deliver the opening address at the conference and Dr Mohammed R Al Yemeni, Advisor to the Minister of Health and Supervisor of ICT, Ministry of Health, Saudi Arabia, who will outline the Kingdom’s healthcare IT programme.

HIMSS is a cause-based, not-for-profit organisation exclusively focused on providing global leadership for the optimal use of information technology (IT) and management systems for the betterment of healthcare. – TradeArabia News Service