Digital hospital

November 2010 Infrastructure

Selayang Hospital is the world’s first paperless and filmless hospital.

At the recent Cardex expo held in Sandton, Dominic Haazen, a health policy specialist from the World Bank, gave a presentation to industry stakeholders on IT systems for National Health Programs. With the much-discussed approach of South Africa’s own National Health Insurance programme, IT applications and related case studies will be crucial study for all involved.

Part of the presentation dealt with a description of one success story – Selayang Hospital in Malaysia, regarded as “the world’s first paperless and filmless hospital”. This hospital contains 960 beds, 22 operating rooms, 1200 PCs, 200 printers, 75 NT servers and four X-servers. The site began operations in September 2001.

The hospital provides a good example of an integrated e-Health policy, entailing the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) to improve the health status of patients and the functioning of the health system. However, it also means change management, as the process of health care delivery and management changes.

The Selayang Hospital system integrates clinical, administrative and financial systems. Within this, the clinical system includes the Hospital Information System (HIS) and the Picture Archiving Communication System (PACS).

Clinical – hospital information system

HIS includes person management, scheduling, order management, clinical documentation, and pharmacy, lab and radiology information systems.

Clinical – picture archive communication system

PACS system is interfaced with X-ray machines.

Administration and finance system

The administration and finance system is integrated with the HIS so that any chargeable procedures or tests performed on the patients will automatically trigger the generation of the bills.

Overall, integration is not only between software applications but also between applications and equipment. Patients’ medical records, guidelines and clinical protocols are instantly available and can be assessed in one integrated workstation at any place and at any time in the hospital, provided that the user has the proper authority to access the information. Further to this, patients themselves can access the system to schedule appointments.

Making this new paperless and filmless hospital system a reality involved a complete re-engineering of the established, and therefore tried-and-tested, clinical and business processes usually employed in a medical facility such as this. It was noted that there was a heavy end user involvement in developing the new processes.

Measureable results

Measured in 2004, three years after operations at the facility began, the impact of the new systems was listed as the following:

* A 40% time reduction in admission, and a 70% time reduction for discharge.

* An 80% time reduction in reviewing patient records.

* Finally, 90% of the physicians stated that they preferred working with the system compared to the previous approach.

Some text quoted verbatim form Dominic Haazen’s presentation slides. Measureable results source – Haazen.





Share this article:
Share via emailShare via LinkedInPrint this page



Further reading:

Data resilience at VeeamON
Technews Publishing SMART Security Solutions Infrastructure Information Security
SMART Security Solutions attended the VeeamON Tour in Johannesburg in August to learn more about data resilience and Veeam’s initiatives to enhance data protection, both on-site and in the cloud.

Read more...
Troye exposes the Entra ID backup blind spot
Information Security Infrastructure
If you trust Microsoft to protect your identity, think again. Many organisations naively believe that Microsoft’s shared responsibility model covers Microsoft Entra?ID – formerly Azure AD – but it does not.

Read more...
Secure data protection without hardware lock-in
Infrastructure Information Security News & Events
New Veeam Software Appliance empowers IT teams to achieve instant protection with Veeam’s fully preconfigured, software-only appliance, delivering enterprise-ready simplified deployment and operational efficiency, robust cyber resilience.

Read more...
Hytera supports communication upgrade for Joburg
News & Events Infrastructure Government and Parastatal (Industry)
By equipping Johannesburg’s metro police and emergency services with multimode radios which integrate TETRA and LTE networks, Hytera is bridging coverage gaps and improving response times across the city.

Read more...
Combining TETRA or DMR with 5G broadband
Infrastructure IoT & Automation
As enterprises face rising complexity and connectivity demands, hybrid networks offer a transformative path, combining the proven reliability of TETRA or DMR with the innovation and coverage of 5G broadband.

Read more...
Questing for the quantum AI advantage
Infrastructure AI & Data Analytics
The clock is ticking down to the realisation of quantum AI and the sought-after ‘quantum advantage’. In many boardrooms, however, quantum remains mysterious; full of promise, but not fully understood.

Read more...
The growing role of hybrid backup
Infrastructure Information Security
As Africa’s digital economy rapidly grows, businesses across the continent are facing the challenge of securing data in an environment characterised by evolving cyberthreats, unreliable connectivity and diverse regulatory frameworks.

Read more...
IoT-driven smart data to stay ahead
IoT & Automation Infrastructure AI & Data Analytics
In a world where uncertainty is constant, the real competitive edge lies in foresight. Businesses that turn real-time data into proactive strategies will not just survive, they will lead.

Read more...
Hydrogen is green but dangerous
Fire & Safety Infrastructure Power Management
Hydrogen infrastructure is developing quickly, but it comes with safety challenges. Hydrogen is flammable, and its small molecular size means it can leak easily. Additionally, fires caused by hydrogen are nearly invisible, making them difficult to detect and respond to.

Read more...
A whole-site solution to crack the data centre market
Fire & Safety Infrastructure Facilities & Building Management
Fire safety consultants and contractors who can offer a comprehensive fire safety solution to the data centre market can establish themselves as a supplier of a key safety features that help guarantee the smooth operation of critical infrastructure.

Read more...










While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained herein, the publisher and its agents cannot be held responsible for any errors contained, or any loss incurred as a result. Articles published do not necessarily reflect the views of the publishers. The editor reserves the right to alter or cut copy. Articles submitted are deemed to have been cleared for publication. Advertisements and company contact details are published as provided by the advertiser. Technews Publishing (Pty) Ltd cannot be held responsible for the accuracy or veracity of supplied material.




© Technews Publishing (Pty) Ltd. | All Rights Reserved.