Shekar Sanumpudi, director of health application at AdvancedIntegrated Systems (AIS), explains the projections for thedigitalisation of the UHWI. Seated at right is AIS chairman, DouglasHalsall.
UHWI to be fully digitised soon
The University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI) is now close to completing the implementation of its Hospital Information Management System (HIMS), which will digitise the hospital’s operations.
According to Shekar Sanumpudi, director of health application at Advanced Integrated Systems (AIS), which is implementing the system at UHWI, the HIMS will become an example to other health facilities across Jamaica and the Caribbean.
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Sanumpudi explained that there are several benefits to having a fully digitised hospital system including electronic patient records (EMR), allowing improved access, efficiency, and quality in the care provided by health facilities.
“Another great feature of this platform is that it offers queue management: Persons will have specific appointment times and be able to track wait times from monitors in the waiting area,” he said.
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He added that the application also allows for inventory management, which is also important, especially for the pharmacy.
“Through the system, drug inventories can be easily monitored and possibly moved to areas that are in greater demand,” Sanumpudi explained.
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He said that the system will provide an important link between private and public health care facilities; and health records will be visible everywhere, with real time data. “The patient doesn’t have to physically travel with their records, but the information is stored in a cloud and all health facilities on the system can access it at any time with the requisite permissions in place,” he noted.
“The real-time data also helps in tracking, especially when we have outbreaks. During the ChikV outbreak, this could have been used to track the areas most affected and would have allowed for the proper resources to be deployed in these areas,” he added.
Sanumpudi also explained that a chief medical officer can check remotely and see how many doctors are on duty, the number of patients who have been seen, how many are left to be seen, the expected wait time, how many beds are allocated and how many are unoccupied.
“The system links all the departments, so that MRIs and CAT scans are available quickly for action, instructions can be sent over the system to nurses and doctors allowing for quick implementation — which would lead to faster discharges,” he stated.
This year’s 16th annual Caribbean Neurosciences Symposium, held on January 25-28, focused on updates in trauma, intensive care, spine surgery, brain surgery, oncology and minimal access surgery.
The symposium comprised of workshops and interactive lectures and provided critical updates for doctors, invaluable teaching for residents in training, an opportunity to dialogue with international faculty, networking with corporate Jamaica and exposure to technical innovators.
Advanced Integrated Systems (AIS) showcased some of the most advanced medical technology that will transform Jamaica into a country with the most comprehensive health information database during the symposium.
The UHWI announced, in 2016, plans for conversion into an electronic hospital management system, under a US$1-million investment. The project has been handled by AIS and its partner Suvarna, based in India.
The hospital has spent some US$1 million to obtain the licence to use the platform produced by Suvarna. AIS will implement the system and handle all upgrades and data entry.
According to UWI Principal and Pro-Vice-Chancellor Professor Archibald McDonald, while hospital management systems typically cost anywhere from US$7 million to US$20 million, the UHWI was able to leverage its brand and contacts to get a lower price.
