Dr Qamra Said al Sariri, director of planning, Directorate General of Health Services, MoH, said that the aim behind the project is to have a centralised database on patients, which can be accessed at any place and can be used whenever the need arises.
"We are working on this project in association with the ROP. We have almost finalised the plans and hope to implement it in the near future," Dr Qamra told Muscat Daily. It assumes importance as the government is trying to link clinics and hospitals at the regional and national level, she said.
Another e-health initiative planned by the MoH is the automatisation of hospital administration. "We have completed this process at all hospitals, clinics and health centres in the Muscat governorate. Other regions and governorates are in the process of implementing it," she said.
"Necessary laws are being formed and existing laws are being amended to suit the changing situation," she said. Microsoft Corporation, which has provided e-health solutions to many hospitals across Europe and America, is collaborating with MoH to augment such services in the sultanate, too.
"The Patient Centric System is an important milestone in e-health ICT, through which all information, including a patient's medical history, will be available to the doctor. This way, a doctor will be able to treat more patients. For patients, the treatments will become more cost-effective," said Shaikh Saif Hilal al Hosni, public sector lead, Microsoft Corporation - Oman.
Michael Sheldon, country manager, Muscat Private Hospital said that e-health was the next big thing in hospital administration. "It is a win-win situation for both, the doctor and the patient. Besides making the treatment cost-effective, a doctor will be able to pin-point the exact cause of an ailment by referring to a patient's past record. Private hospitals are banking on e-health services in a big way."
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Joseph Benny
Quelle/Source: Zawya, 20.09.2011
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