The Dubai Health Authority (DHA)’s electronic medical record system, Salama, will officially be launched in 2017 in the course of three phases—the announcement was made on the sidelines of Arab Health 2017.

The DHA-wide project aims to provide patients access to their medical record through a patient portal and ensure that the electronic patient medical record is available across the DHA health facilities.

So far 1.4 million DHA patient medical records and 112 million transactions have been transferred to the Salama system and 11,000 DHA staff will be trained on how to use the system in 2017. The training process started on January 29 this year.

His Excellency Humaid Al Qatami, Chairman of the Board and Director General of the DHA attended the technical go-live launch of the new system on Wednesday along with other DHA officials, where Amani Al Jassmi, Director of Information Technology at the DHA explained the three phases of the project.
“There are three phases of the program. In the first phase the programs which will be implemented in April in Rashid Hospital, Dermatology Center, Airport Medical Centers, Dubai Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation Center and the Barsha Health Center,” she said.
Al Jassmi added that the second phase in August Salama will be implemented in Dubai Hospital, Dubai Diabetes Center and all Primary Health Care Centers. While In the third phase in November Salama will be implemented in Latifa Hospital, Hatta Hospital, Thalassemia Center,  Dubai Gynecology and Fertility Center and all DHA Medical Fitness Centers, she added.

Al Jasmi said that what makes Salama special is that it integrates 25 application in one interface making it easier to access different applications at the click of a bottom.

His Excellency Al Qatami said that DHA’s smart health initiatives are in line with the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai and the Dubai smart government strategy, which aims to transform Dubai into a smart city. He added that this was also possible with the support of Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and the support of His ​Hi​ghn​es​s Shaikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, UAE Minister of Finance and ​President of the Dubai Health Authority

Al Qatami emphasized that Salama will not only benefit patients by providing them with online access to their medical records but it will help improve patient outcomes by ensuring that the electronic patient file follows the patient across the DHA network of health facilities. He added that the implementation of this project is a vital milestone for the DHA to achieve the authority’s ambition to move towards digital healthcare.”

Al Jasmi added that the project will help improve patient care and patient safety and it will improve risk management and organizational quality. Furthermore, it will provide healthcare providers across the DHA network with quick access to patient records.

She said that the Healthcare providers will receive consolidated and integrated patient information, which gives providers a rapid, complete overview of the patient’s condition.

The system will also help facilitate automatic cross-referencing of medication and allergy interactions.

“It will provide real-time alerts, warnings, and flags to draw attention to changes in the patient medication or patient condition.  Moreover allergy warnings will always be displayed on the screen which directly results in minimizing any medication errors,” she concluded.