Unified information systems are critical in healthcare. Clinicians need access to a patient’s full medical information and history to make the best-informed care decisions. Seamless flow of information across the hospital reduces the potential  risk of delays, errors, or repeated testing, in turn improving quality of care and experience delivered to patients.

Realising a single and complete view of the patient, however, can be challenging, especially for organisations operating on various software platforms with differing formats. There are also complexities in ensuring data privacy and security – paramount concerns in healthcare – and compliance with local regulations.

Indonesia’s EMC Healthcare recently accomplished this feat, deploying the InterSystems TrakCare® unified healthcare information system across its network of eight hospitals: Alam Sutera Hospital, EMC Tangerang Hospital, Grha Kedoya Hospital, EMC Pulomas Hospital, EMC Sentul Hospital, EMC Cikarang Hospital, EMC Pekayon Hospital and EMC Cibitung Hospital. The speed of the roll-out was remarkable, with seven hospitals deploying the system within 18 months of the first hospital deployment.

Boosting patient safety with seamless, integrated information flow

With the implementation, all EMC Healthcare hospitals now access a single, centralised electronic medical record (EMR) system. This allows authorised clinicians to instantly and securely access patient medical records, including all allergies and medications. They now also have access to clinical decision support, such as alerts about potential medication prescribing errors.

With admission, laboratory, radiology, pharmacy, clinical and surgical departments all on the same system, the potential for errors or delays is significantly reduced.

Delivering a digitalised patient experience

This digital transformation also provides a better patient experience, starting from before they step into the hospital. Appointments can now be made easily via Whatsapp integrated with the TrakCare EMR, with a view of individual doctors’ availability.

EMC Healthcare has also developed a mobile app which leverages the TrakCare API to offer patients access to EMR information, such as test results. App enhancement plans are in the pipeline to put more services at patients’ fingertips, including the feature to call an ambulance and track its location and expected arrival time.

Besides smoother, more convenient experiences for patients, fully digitalised services are also creating more efficient processes across the organisation.

“TrakCare enables standard and more efficient processes,” said Wildan Djohany, Director of IT at EMC Healthcare. “Our clinicians already have a new mindset. They understand how they can simplify processes by making them digital, and the patient information they record is more structured, consistent and readily accessible.”

On another note, EMC Healthcare acknowledges the importance of complying with government regulations related to interoperability of healthcare data beyond their organisation. TrakCare ensures compliance with the Indonesian government’s mandate for healthcare facilities to adopt EMRs and integrate with the Health Ministry’s SATUSEHAT (One Health) platform. With support from InterSystems, EMC Healthcare now leverages the HL7® FHIR® health data sharing standard to send all required data to SATUSEHAT.

Ambitious growth plans ahead

Riding on the success of its digital transformation, EMC Healthcare is in the midst of several plans to continuously improve the quality of care it delivers. Three of its hospitals have already received the acclaimed Joint Commission International (JCI) accreditation, with assessments ongoing at others. JCI is the recognised global leader in health care accreditation, and receiving its seal of approval is an objective sign of a hospital’s quality of care and safety.

One of EMC Healthcare’s network hospitals, Grha Kedoya Hospital, is working on achieving the EMRAM accreditation from HIMSS. EMRAM measures the maturity of EMR adoption against global benchmarks. InterSystems, as a HIMSS-appointed Digital Health Technology Partner (DHTP), is helping the hospital in its endeavours.

“Since partnering with EMC Healthcare, we have been impressed with their adoption and innovation in using digital technology,” said Luciano Brustia, Regional Managing Director Asia Pacific for InterSystems. “The speed with which we were able to go live with each of the hospitals was world-class and supports EMC Healthcare’s rapid growth. We have seen strong commitment from the executive level down to the staff on the wards and an outstanding ability to work with InterSystems as one team.”

For more information, visit https://www.intersystems.com/sg/news/emc-healthcare-deploys-intersystems-trakcare-for-enhanced-patient-experience-and-improved-efficiency/.