Malaysia's IJN Embarks On 7 Year Plan To Become Paperless Hospital

The National Heart Institute (IJN), a heart surgery centre in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, has budgeted RM45 million (US$1 = RM4.15) to carry out a seven-year plan to become a paperless hospital, says Chief Executive Officer Dr Mohd Azhari Yakub.

London, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 16th Oct, 2018 ) :The National Heart Institute (IJN), a heart surgery centre in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, has budgeted RM45 million (US$1 = RM4.15) to carry out a seven-year plan to become a paperless hospital, says Chief Executive Officer Dr Mohd Azhari Yakub.

By leveraging on the use of technology, the hospital embarked on the plan in 2015, aimed at providing cutting edge service to its patients.

He said the government-owned private hospital is currently entering its third year of the plan, and has, thus far, put in place several modules for technology imaging system, hospital system as well as financial system.

"Next year onwards, we are going to embark on electronic medical records or EMR, whereby this system will integrate the various modules that we currently have and we will eventually become a paperless hospital," he said, adding that this was the hospital's desire for the future, to integrate various existing systems in order to move forward in terms of patient safety, efficiency and cost containment.

Dr Mohd Azhari, who has been selected as an Outstanding Alumnus of the Oxford Advanced Management and Leadership Programme, is currently in London to receive the award on Friday.

Speaking to reporters accompanying Dr Mohd Azhari and his delegation on the trip, he said the hospital, established in 1992, aimed at empowering its patients in taking care of themselves in terms of making appointments from their own mobile phone as well as obtaining medical results from IJN.

He visited the Royal Papworth Hospital in Cambridge, which is a cardiovascular institute similar to IJN, to learn from the hospital's experience in implementing the EMR system.

The IJN delegation would also visit two other hospitals, one in London and another in Oxford, to learn more about the EMR and to seek collaboration in terms of research and clinical care.

"Once we implement the EMR, which is an integrator of the modules that we have, we can move on to other modules like the automated drug dispensing as well as scheduling, which are part of the information architecture plan," he explained.

On scheduling, he said the system, when implemented, would allow patients to choose an appointment time and date convenient to them.

Asked on the cost reduction in integrating the technology system, Dr Mohd Azhari said IJN had not set a target but said it was more towards meeting client expectation.

With increased efficiency and better patient experience, he was confident that IJN would be able to treat more private patients.

"Currently, a majority of our patients are from Indonesia, but we are seeing an increased number of patients from Myanmar and Vietnam.

"Moving forward, we hope to service more patients from the middle East and Bangladesh," he said, adding that the number of private patients seeking treatment at IJN was anticipated to increase to 50 per cent, over the next five years, from the current 30 per cent.

To date, IJN has up to 70 (local) specialists working with the hospitals in niche areas namely electrophysiologywhich relates to heart rhythm, heart failure, complex intervention and others.