ICT Fostering Healthcare Excellence


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Dr. KhanictQATAR Clinical Advisor during the Conference
Transforming health care through technology has reached a new era of promise. Through prompt and more accurate diagnosis, less invasive procedures and better treatment options, medical technology is rapidly altering the face of health care.

Recognizing the pivotal role that health informatics plays today, the Gulf Region's leading healthcare event, the first HIMSS Middle East Conference took place in Bahrain recently where Dr. Yasir Khan, ictQATAR's Clinical Advisor for the e-health program delivered a keynote address. HIMSS (Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society) is a premier professional member organization on optimal use of healthcare information technology aiming to foster healthcare IT & management excellence.

Dr. Khan's keynote presentation focused on ictQATAR's role in the development of the e-health strategy for the nation through synchronizing various ongoing and new e-health initiatives within Qatar. ictQATAR works closely with its stakeholders in the field of e-health towards the objective of a national e-health system to support health reforms. "The ultimate benefit achieved from a national e-health strategy is a safer and more sustainable health system that is equipped to better respond to the emerging health sector's pressures and demands," said Dr. Khan.

As a first tier, ictQATAR is concentrating on putting a robust infrastructure in place. A government-owned dedicated network is currently being developed as a back bone to provide interoperability not only between various health care providers, but key government institutions "This network will be capable of serving bandwidth-intensive applications such as a national shared imaging repository. It will provide necessary connectivity to remote clinical sites including telemedicine applications. Clinics and primary healthcare centers will also benefit from being linked to a centralized patient record," observed Dr. Khan.

The second tier of ictQATAR's approach centers on e-health applications and systems. The national electronic health record (EHR) is being conceived as a hub to share information on patient records across health care institutions from a centralized point. When completed and delivered, this national EHR will completely revolutionize the way healthcare services can be delivered giving the clinician the right information at the right time. Often, it is not only the accuracy of the diagnosis, but prompt evaluation of a medical condition as well that determines how soon a patient can receive effective treatment.

"The ultimate benefit achieved from a national e-health strategy is a safer and more sustainable health system that is equipped to better respond to the emerging health sector's pressures and demands"
-- Dr. Khan

By ensuring the availability of patient information to all concerned health authorities promptly, it will bridge the various gaps of communication that exist in the health ecosystem currently. This proves advantageous especially for life threatening conditions, where many times 'every second counts' to mitigate the risks involved. ""Through the EHR, citizens will have better information and updates about their health through personal health records which can be easily available in an interoperable world. They can also shift between clinicians and health institutions for consultations more easily," added Dr. Khan.

Clinical research and epidemiology are other areas that have been identified as priorities for ictQATAR's focus under e-health applications. According to Dr. Khan, lack of accurate and statistically viable data can pose challenges for the development of a nation's health strategy. Dr. Khan touched upon the latest concepts, models and sophisticated analytical tools, which can provide valuable insight not only for general planning of health care services, but also for pattern recognition and analysis of disease prevalence in the community. New innovations such as close-loop national health information systems are also being considered where key health related information is captured.

According to Anthony McCourt, ictQATAR's e-Health Manager, e-Health services will allow the comprehensive management of medical information and its secure exchange between healthcare consumers and providers. He added, "Broad use of e-Health will improve healthcare quality and outcomes, increase administrative efficiencies, and decrease paperwork. Once hospital interoperability is delivered, e-health will not only improve individual patient care, it will also bring many public health benefits including improved tracking of chronic disease management."

With all these efforts in place and the collaboration of key stakeholders across the country, Qatar will continue to make strides in ensuring its citizens and residents live healthier, longer lives.

- By Shalini Ravi





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