China Medical University Hospital achieves triple HIMSS validations
The China Medical University Hospital in Taichung, Taiwan was recently validated for three HIMSS Digital Maturity models: Phase 7 for the Infrastructure adoption model (INFRAM), extension of phase 7 for the Model for adoption of electronic health records (EMRAM) and phase 6 for the Analytics Maturity Adoption Model (AMAM).
The INFRAM measures the maturity of an organization in terms of infrastructure and associated technological capabilities. The EMRAM measures their clinical outcomes, patient engagement, and physicians’ use of EMR technology, while the AMAM measures their analytics capabilities.
WHY IT MATTERS
CMUH is the first hospital in Taiwan to be validated for Phase 7 INFRAM. It was able to achieve this feat in just four months after reaching Phase 6. It attributed this achievement to its infrastructure strategy, which drew inspiration from the Chinese zodiac.
The hospital is also the first hospital in the country to be validated for phase 6 AMAM. It was able to demonstrate a number of mature applications of analytics, including drug cost analysis, which enabled it to achieve annual cost savings of approximately NT$200 million ($6.2 million). Another example is the ARDiTeX (ARDS Technology System) visualization panel used in the Respiratory ICU. It enabled the reduction of 28-day mortality among diagnosed patients with ARDS (Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome).
Furthermore, CMUH was revalidated for phase 7 of the EMRAM. To meet the demands of this phase, the hospital has implemented major changes to its EHR system. These include implementing the Electronic Medication Administration Record, integrating records between multidisciplinary teams, and establishing interoperability with the Taiwan National Health Insurance Med-cloud database.
HIMSS also recognized its antimicrobial AI platform, the Intelligent Anti-Microbial System (iAMS), as a notable use of the EMR. It is a four-in-one AI-driven platform that identifies resistant strains and predicts and monitors the risk of infectious sepsis and mortality. It also makes smart dosage recommendations and automatic comparisons of drug interactions and allergy history. In just three months after its implementation in June 2021, iAMS helped reduce mortality from sepsis by 7.1%, compared to 13.4% in the same period the year before.
To date, CMUH has developed 16 AI-driven services and 50 dashboards based on the Microsoft Power Business Intelligence platform, all of which are being widely deployed across clinical and operational areas.
THE BIG TREND
CMUH joins a growing group of Taiwanese healthcare providers validated for the EMRAM. The rehabilitation follows Changhua Christian Hospital, which was also validated for Phase 7 EMRAM a few months ago. The Kaohsiung Medical University Chung-Ho Memorial Hospital is the latest hospital in Taiwan to be validated in Phase 6, followed last year by Far Eastern Memorial Hospital. Taichung Veterans General Hospital and Taichung MetroHarbor Hospital of Tungs have also achieved Phase 6 for this model.
CMUH’s AMAM and INFRAM validations also follow those of Samsung Medical Center, the first healthcare provider in Asia Pacific to achieve Stage 6 AMAM and Stage 7 INFRAM.
ON THE RECORD
Dr. Wei-Cheng Chen, Chief Secretary of CMUH, said that in their efforts towards digital transformation, they have turned to international standards and models for inspiration and validation.
“During these years – without role models of smart hospitals in Taiwan – we have observed and learned to figure out what an AI smart hospital is. We found that HIMSS provides a systematic approach and clear criteria to achieve this goal. Therefore, CMUH strongly endorses HIMSS to guide our directions and discover our weaknesses,” Dr. Chen.
CMUH Superintendent Dr. Der-Yang Cho further explained their vision to become a smart AI hospital: “At CMUH, our vision of smart healthcare is anchored in a patient-centric approach, with the aim of refining clinical processes and improving quality of healthcare through data analysis and AI. Continually evolving with our digital transformation journey, this approach integrates advanced AI and BI to deliver more accurate, efficient and reliable medical solutions like the iAMS.”
“Superintendent Dr. Cho underlines our commitment to ‘useful, practical and favorite’ tools and projects that improve patient care and quality of life. Through these efforts, we strive to make our healthcare services not only effective and efficient, but also preferred to care and appreciate by our patients,” added Deputy Superintendent and CMUH Professor Oscar K. Lee.