By the first quarter of 2008, over 4000 patients yearly at the community hospitals will be able to enjoy better patient care, improved drug safety, fewer repeat tests and hence lower costs with the extension of the Electronic Medical Records Exchange (EMRX). First off the block is the Ang Mo Kio-Thye Hua Kwan (AMK-THK) Community Hospital. In Nov 2007, it has linked up tomedical records of patients who visit the public healthcare institutions which include all the public hospitals, specialist centres and polyclinics.
With this extension of the EMRX to the AMK-THK Community Hospital, doctors in the community hospital can now access theelectronic medical recordsof patients who have been referred from any Restructured Hospital (RH). Similarly, when a patient from the AMK-THK Community Hospital is referred back to an RH, the RH doctor will also have access to theelectronic medical records
[1]created at the Community Hospital. This means better integrated and seamless care for patients. Diagnosis and treatment also become faster. “The close partnerships that Community Hospitals and Restructured Hospitals already enjoy, now go one step further with the EMRX system in place. Having ready access to the medical information of referred patients enables us to provide our patients with continued, quality care.” said Mr S. Vivakanandan, CEO, Ang Mo Kio – Thye Hua Kwan Hospital.
The extension marks the first step in the Ministry of Health’s plans to extend the EMRX beyond the public sector. The EMRX will be extended to the other Community Hospitals – Bright Vision Hospital, Kwong Wai Shiu Hospital, St Andrew’s Community Hospital and St Luke’s Hospital – by the first quarter of 2008. The extension of the EMRX beyond the public sector will strengthen the integration of care across the healthcare sector.
Patient confidentiality is strictly maintained as only doctors and healthcare professionals who are bound by the law and professional ethics will have access to patients’ electronic medical records.
Background
EMRX was first introduced in Apr 2004, starting with the sharing of Hospital Inpatient Discharge Summaries between the two public healthcare clusters. Since then, the types of EMR being shared have grown to include:
Hospital In-patient Discharge Summary
Laboratory test results (e.g. Blood test results)
X-ray and other radiological test results
Medical operation reports
Drug Allergies
Medicines prescribed
Cardiac reports
Emergency Department reports
[1]For the pilot,information onHospital In-patient Discharge SummaryandMedicines prescribedare shared with EMRX.