Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi receives international award

ABU DHABI / Emirates Business

HIMSS Analytics has announced that Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, part of Mubadala’s network of world-class healthcare providers, has achieved the HIMSS Analytics Electronic Medical Record Adoption ModelSM (EMRAMSM) Stage 7, an international benchmark for the use of advanced IT to improve patient care. Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi is the first UAE healthcare facility, and only the second in the GCC, to achieve EMRAMSM Stage 7.
HIMSS Analytics developed the EMRAMSM in 2005 as a methodology for evaluating the progress and impact of electronic medical record systems for hospitals in the HIMSS Analyticsâ„¢ Database. There are eight stages (0 – 7) that measure a hospital’s implementation and utilization of information technology applications. The final stage, Stage 7, represents the most advanced patient record environment. Only 4.5 percent of hospitals in the US, and just ten hospitals outside the US, have reached HIMSS Stage 7 designation.
The validation process to confirm a hospital has reached Stage 7 includes twelve months of data collection and a site visit by an executive from HIMSS Analytics and independent former or current chief information officers from Stage 7 hospitals to ensure an unbiased evaluation. HIMSS Stage 7 environments demonstrate the adoption of technology and analytics to ensure enhanced patient safety, reduced medical errors, superior clinical outcomes, improved reimbursements and informed decision making.
Dr Tomislav Mihaljevic, CEO, Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, said: “We are honored to be the first hospital in the UAE to achieve HIMSS Stage 7 designation. In doing so, we are helping to raise the standard for innovative care in Abu Dhabi and the Gulf region. Achieving HIMSS Stage 7 not only allows us to use the latest IT solutions to enhance the patient experience today, but also establish a data-driven culture that allows us to continuously improve and better serve our patients and the community in the years to come.”
Gareth Sherlock, Chief Information Officer, Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, said: “Achieving HIMSS Stage 7 was an important target that we set for ourselves. Our guiding philosophy at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi is ‘Patients First,’ which our completely paperless medical record system supports by giving our Caregivers tools to track safety and quality measures, and providing our patients with a more seamless experience focused on positive outcomes.”