Beirut, October 26, 2018:- As one of the leading medical centers in the region, the American University of Beirut Medical Center (AUBMC) organized a media briefing session to introduce AUBHealth, the top-of-the-line electronic health record (EHR) system in Lebanon, ahead of its Go-Live on November 3, 2018. Developed by EPIC, an American software company, AUBHealth is a bold step towards shifting patients’ medical records to a fully electronic medical system.
Aiming to enhance healthcare services, education, and research, AUBHealth will provide a comprehensive, central, and integrated solution for delivering patient care. Patients will experience quicker communication and coordination between the healthcare team members regarding their conditions and treatments, and they will have much easier access to their medical records and test results. The new paperless system will also create a more secure and seamless patient experience when accessing protected health information.
On the flipside, healthcare professionals at AUBMC will have online access to patient’s unified medical records at their fingertips even if they are not physically present in the Medical Center. Further, admission and discharge processes will become easier and more efficient, scheduling appointments will be done in a smoother way, as well as medical records will be accessible to the patients and their designated caregivers anytime, anywhere.
“Healthcare has become significantly more complex and data intensive. So, to overcome barriers and inefficiencies internally between healthcare team members and externally with the patients and their caregivers, we are implementing a single, integrated electronic health record to better serve our patients,” said Dr. Ghassan Hamadeh, Chief Medical Information Officer (CMIO) and Chair of the Family Medicine at AUBMC. “Once AUBHealth is in place, patients and providers will have the information they need from a single system, including medications, allergies, lab results, medical history, and appointments,” added Dr. Hamadeh.
“Digitizing health records became a global imperative to modernize healthcare for patients. This enormous undertaking is a key component of our commitment to provide our patients at AUBMC with world-class care,” said Raed Rafeh, Project Director of AUBHealth. “The Epic installation is a major milestone in the expansion and harmonization of our core information technology (IT) systems across the entire institution. It includes the integration of ancillary systems such as radiology, pharmacy, laboratory, ambulatory, perioperative, patient transport, blood bank, and billing,” concluded Rafeh.
EPIC, a US developed electronic health record system, tackled the specific needs of AUBMC patients and staff set to form the foundation for operations for years to come. The paperless system provides a secure and seamless patient experience when accessing protected health information using PatientSecure™, a cutting-edge biometric palm-scanning technology used for patient identification at registration and check-in; and MyChart®, an online application that allows for home or mobile access to medical records and secure messaging with doctors.
About AUBMC
Since 1902, AUBMC has been providing the highest standards of care to patients across Lebanon and the region. It is also the teaching hospital for the Faculty of Medicine at AUB (established in 1867), which has trained generations of medical students and physicians, and whose graduates can be found at leading institutions around the world. AUBMC is the only medical institution in the Middle East to have earned the five international accreditations of JCI, Magnet, CAP, ACGME-I and JACIE attesting to its superior standards in patient-centered care, nursing, pathology/laboratory services and graduate medical education.
The Faculty of Medicine has graduated over 4,000 medical students and physicians; the Rafic Hariri School of Nursing provides excellent education for the nursing staff, and the Medical Center meets the healthcare needs of over 360,000 patient visits annually.