Reaches HIMSS 6 and makes history

Children’s Cancer Hospital Egypt (Hospital 57357) is the first and only integrated digital hospital in all of Africa to achieve Stage 6 on the Electronic Medical Record Adoption ModelSM (EMRAM) by the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) Analytics. The accomplishment is an international benchmark for the use of advanced IT to improve patient care.

“Hospital 57357 shares Cerner’s belief that a solid health IT infrastructure is the foundation for improving the health and care of patients through standardization and automation of processes, and interactive clinical decision support for care providers. Being the first health care facility in Africa to achieve Stage 6 is not only an honor, but also a reflection of the hard work and dedication of our staff,” said Dr. Sherif Abouelnaga, CEO of Hospital 57357.

Nine years ago, Hospital 57357 launched the Cerner Millennium® integrated clinical information system, which enabled authorized users to capture, retrieve and share patient data seamlessly.

“Cerner Millennium supported our goal of providing integrated, high-quality health care services to our patients. The rich data we are collecting at every step in the care journey is the foundation for our research activities to improve cure rates,” said Dr. Mohamed Aggag, chief medical officer of Hospital 57357.

The hospital’s health care information system enables the use of barcoded medication administration, which helps verify that the right dose of the right medication is given to the right patient at the right time. This is critical for patient safety and an essential requirement for HIMSS Stage 6 accreditation. Another prerequisite for the HIMSS recognition is the Computerized Physician Order Entry, which improves the accuracy and timeliness of tests, procedures and medication orders.

“When we implemented Cerner Millennium back in 2008, we called it MISK®, which stands for Medical Informatics Saving Kids. This reflects our belief in the importance of the health care information technology throughout the patient’s care journey,” said Ayman Ibrahim, vice president of technology of Hospital 57357.

HIMSS is a global, not-for-profit organization that recognizes hospitals who have improved their delivery of health care through the use of information technology and electronic management systems. HIMSS Analytics developed EMRAM as a methodology for evaluating the progress and impact of electronic medical record systems for hospitals in the HIMSS Analytics Database. There are eight stages (0-7) that measure a hospital’s implementation and utilization of information technology applications. Hospitals can track and review their progress in completing each stage as they proceed toward Stage 7, which represents an advanced electronic patient record environment that delivers safety and efficiency improvements.

“Cerner is celebrating 10 years of a successful and fruitful relationship with Hospital 57357. This award comes at the perfect time to highlight the success of Hospital 57357 in using their information system to provide high quality of care to its patients. HIMSS Stage 6 is not just a technology award but also reflects a commitment to harnessing the EHR to provide safer, proactive and more efficient patient care,” said Alaa Adel, director and general manager, Cerner Middle East and Africa. “We are delighted that Cerner Millennium is supporting Hospital 57357 in its noble mission. We believe that this accomplishment will highlight Hospital 57357 as a role model for improving health care in Egypt and Africa.”