Dubai Health Authority forms executive board for managing electronic medical records

The Dubai Health Authority has created an executive board to handle electronic medical records (EMR), which will be chaired by Humaid Mohammed Obaid Al Qatami, the Health Authority’s chairman.

The six-member board will be tasked with inspecting how well the current EMR system functions. They will also track the progress of the EMR’s implementation across all Dubai Health Authority care facilities.

Al Qatami said the DHA is seeking to move towards an entirely paper-free environment and records system.

“Electronic Medical Record plays a vital role in this vision as EMR is a digital version of the traditional paper-based medical record for a patient,” Al Qatami said. “EMR has numerous benefits and therefore we are focusing on its implementation.”

On top of the EMR supervisory board, the DHA has also formed an electronic Medical Records Steering Committee -- an eleven-member team headed by Amani Al Jassmi, the DHA’s IT director.

That committee is to be responsible for the developing the EMR’s operational plans and for monitoring its implementation.

The Steering Committee will also set up performance management indicators to track how effectively the project is being implemented. The Steering Committee will report directly to the EMR Executive Board on the progress of the project.