Singapore's First Healthcare-IT Laboratory Set Up To Help Public Hospitals Transform Patient Care

Joint development center will accelerate IT solutions for public hospitals and healthcare institutions

Singapore’s first healthcare technology laboratory is being set up with a leading international IT company to create cutting edge software for public hospitals to  transform patient care.

Integrated Health Information Systems (IHiS) and Allscripts, a United States-based healthcare solutions provider, recently (Mar 26) signed an agreement to set up the joint development center. IHiS architects and manages IT systems at all Singapore public hospitals.

The IHiS-Allscripts Technology Laboratory will accelerate IT solutions for SingHealth, Alexandra Health and Eastern Health Alliance regional health systems and the Asian healthcare industry.

It will be Allscripts first laboratory in Southeast Asia, and its first joint facility in Asia dedicated to the collaborative development of needed healthcare IT.

The center begins operations in April, and will be jointly funded and staffed by Allscripts and IHiS’ IT developers, analysts and product designers. The jointly-developed solutions will be piloted and rolled out at the public healthcare institutions to benefit patients.

Today, the healthcare clusters are increasingly tapping on technology to manage the surge in patient volumes at hospitals, specialty centers and polyclinics. As Singapore’s population ages at one of the world’s fastest rates, they are also harnessing IT to extend care beyond the hospital walls, to the growing numbers of elderly with chronic diseases in the community.

IHiS Chief Executive Officer, Dr Chong Yoke Sin, said: “The joint laboratory will enable local clinicians and IT professionals to work closely with international experts to create software that will integrate seamlessly with our hospitals’ workflows and address our future healthcare challenges.

“After installing the core electronic medical records technologies at the hospitals, we are ready to accelerate the development of innovative applications to increase healthcare staff’s productivity as they extend care to patients in community facilities and at home.”

Allscripts Executive Vice President for Solutions Development Organisation, Mr Cliff Meltzer, said: “The joint center represents Allscripts long term commitment and investment in helping healthcare providers in Asia. The advanced systems in Singapore’s hospitals are equal to the world’s best, and are highly relevant around the world. We share a common vision of a ‘connected community of health’ that leverages IT to improve the quality of care and reduce costs.

“The lab will engage clinicians and healthcare providers across various care settings to accelerate delivery of leading edge solutions relevant to the healthcare processes and environment in the region.”

Under the agreement, Allscripts will train IHiS staff on its methodologies for software development, quality assurance, sustaining engineering and operational support.
In turn, IHiS will provide Allscripts access to clinical staff and resources for the definition, deployment and testing of software features and solutions.

The laboratory’s team of solutions experts will work on enhancing medication management.  Subsequent projects may include emergency, critical care and specialist mobility systems at hospitals, as well as interface software for robots to automate and speed up care processes.  The joint team will also explore tele-health, mobile health and healthcare analytics solutions.

The laboratory staff will work closely with doctors and healthcare staff to conduct trials and refine the advanced applications at Singapore General Hospital, KK Women’s & Children’s Hospital, Changi General Hospital and Khoo Teck Puat Hospital.

In 2011, Singapore General Hospital  and KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital became among the first public institutions in the Asia Pacific region to achieve HIMSS EMRAM Stage 6, an international benchmark for advanced technology used to improve patient care.

HIMSS Stage 6, on a scale of 0 to 7, indicates significant IT capabilities in delivering patient-centric care. Only 3.5 per cent of US hospitals then had achieved Stage 6 or 7. The hospitals’ electronic medical records systems are built on Allscripts software.

Allscripts provides core electronic health records systems and healthcare solutions at about 1,500 hospitals and more than 10,000 post-acute care organisations in US, Asia, Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom.

About Integrated Health Information Systems (IHiS)
IHiS is a healthcare-IT leader, transforming patient care through excellence in technology. Managing highly integrated systems and IT expertise across Singapore’s public healthcare sector, its dynamic teams support more than 30,000 healthcare staff at all public hospitals, national specialty centres and polyclinics.

IHiS architects and oversees the performance of the clinical, business and healthcare analytics systems of the healthcare institutions. It played a key role in four Singapore hospitals becoming the first public institutions in the Asia Pacific to achieve HIMSS EMR Stage 6, an international benchmark for advanced technology used in patient-care. The Health Ministry’s IT arm, IHiS is at the forefront of innovation, driving new standards in quality care. For more information, visit www.ihis.com.sg

About Allscripts
Allscripts delivers the insights that healthcare providers require to generate world-class outcomes. The company’s Electronic Health Record, practice management and other clinical, revenue cycle, connectivity and information solutions create a Connected Community of Health for physicians, hospitals and post-acute organizations. For more information, visit www.allscripts.com.